The Independent Spirit

The Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Bill 2011 (CIPA): What is the fuss?

2012-01-19T18:30:00.002+08:00

There is much interest generatedin the construction industry of late what with the proposed ConstructionIndustry Payment and Adjudication Bill 2011 (CIPA). Many professional bodieshave jumped on the bandwagon in offering courses and seminars to keyconstruction industry officials to try to explain the Bill of Parliament andhow the Bill when passed in Parliament will affect them. It has been hintedthat the Bill will be passed this March 2012. This would mean that companies inthe construction industry should arm itself and be ready for the new regime of statutoryadjudication. This is the era of adjudication in the construction industry.

Why CIPA? The constructionindustry themselves have been pushing the government to enact this piece oflegislation since 2003 to address the cash flow problems plagued by theindustry. The primary objective of the proposed Act is to address critical cashflow issues in the construction industry. It aims to remove the practice ofconditional payments (‘pay when paid’ and ‘pay if paid’) and reduce paymentdefault by establishing a cheaper, speedier system of dispute resolution in theform of adjudication. According to the provisions of CIPA every constructioncontract made in writing that relates to construction work carried out inMalaysia would be affected by the regime of adjudication. This wouldessentially mean that if you have entered into a construction contract andthere is a problem with regards to payment, an adjudication process can becommenced either by you or against you. A construction contract can be aconstruction work contract and or a construction consultancy contract.

To this extent, the parties willbe subjected to compulsory adjudication or statutory adjudication. This wouldmean that both parties will be dragged into the adjudication process which isdictated by the provisions of CIPA. The provisions of CIPA does not howeveraffect natural persons entering into a construction contract in respect of abuilding wholly intended for his own occupation and is four storeys and below.

Be that as it may, wouldadjudication stop your right to arbitration or to go to court to litigatematters? The answer is No. The purpose of adjudication is to hurry along cashflow and facilitate payment in the construction industry. Parties are free toopt for arbitration or court litigation to deal with the legal mattersconcerning the same. CIPA simply provides a statutory right for the parties todemand payment for work done and to create a simple process to ensure that adecision and payment is made. This of course is in the form of adjudication asa process. In fact, the partiescan commence adjudication and concurrently arbitrate or litigate the matter aswell. Of course, common sense would dictate that the adjudication process willbe terminated if the dispute is decided by arbitration or the court before theadjudication decision can be made. If however, the adjudication decision comesfirst then it is a binding decision and payment must be made.

In short, statutory adjudicationhas the following characteristics -

1. Itis a mandatory and statutory process that does not require the agreement of theparties’ to commence the process.

2. Itoffers a much faster process compared to arbitration and court litigationbecause the time frame is as prescribed by the proposed CIPA itself. It is theonly form of dispute resolution that has a statutory time period in which thedispute must be resolved in forty five (45) working days.

3. Itprovides a binding decision on a payment dispute.

4. Theparties can choose their own adjudicator or request for KLRCA to choose anadjudicator on their behalf.

There are many procedures to becomplied with by the parties and the time frame is dictated by the provisionsof CIPA. The entire adjudication process including the time required to decidethe case would take approximately one hundred (100) working days. So how do you go about starting theadjudication process? The adjudication process can be summarised by thefollowing steps -

1. Payment Claim - The unpaid party servesa Payment Claim on the non-paying party. The non-paying party would then servethe Payment Response on the unpaid party in reply to the claim within 10working days. (Either party has a right to refer the dispute to adjudication)

2. Initiation of Adjudication - Theadjudication proceeding is thereby initiated by the serving of a Notice ofAdjudication served by the claimant on the respondent.

3. Nomination of Adjudicator - Anadjudicator is thereby nominated by the agreement of both parties in thedispute within 10 working days from the service of the notice or to request forthe adjudicator to be nominated by the Director of the KLRCA. The KLRCA has 5working days to nominate the same.

4. Adjudication Claim - Once theadjudicator is nominated and has accepted the terms and conditions and relevantfees, the claimant is to serve the Adjudication Claim on the respondent within10 working days upon receipt of the acceptance by the adjudicator whereupon therespondent is to then serve the Adjudication Response on the claimant within 10working days; the claimant may then serve a further Adjudication Reply within 5working days.

5. Commencement of Adjudication - Theadjudication would then begin. KLRCA shall be informed of the commencement. Theadjudicator shall direct that reasonable proportion of the adjudicator’s feesin equal shares be deposited in advance to the Director of KLRCA as security. Partiescan represent themselves or choose to be represented namely by a lawyer.

6. Decision - The Adjudicator has to reacha decision not later than 45 working days from the service of the AdjudicationResponse or Adjudication Reply, whichever is later. An adjudication decisionwhich is not made within the specified period is void. The adjudicator may alsodirect full payment of the fees and expenses to be deposited with the Directorof KLRCA prior to the release of the adjudication decision to the parties. Acopy of the decision shall be provided not only to the parties but a copy mustbe served on the Director of KLRCA as well.

Hence it is important to nominatethe correct adjudicator and if in doubt, reliance should be placed on the KLRCAto appoint one on your behalf. The KLRCA has been appointed the adjudicationauthority in Malaysia by virtue of Part V of CIPA, thus setting the standardterms of appointment, fees for adjudicators and setting the competencystandards and criteria for adjudicators.

It is notclear whether CIPA would effectively address the cash flow problems in theconstruction industry but Malaysia is one of five countries who have opted to adoptthis form of legislation. The other countries are the United Kingdom, someStates and Territories in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. We can onlywait and see.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

2011-12-22T01:03:00.003+08:00

The Wedding is undoubtedly the most significant event in my life this year. Ann Quah said yes when the proposal was made and by 5th Nov 2011, we registered our marriage and hosted a Wedding lunch for our respective families.

The proposal was done at Phuket. Ann (I think) did not expect it at all. Teh and Yee Suan were also at Phuket for a joint holiday. Ashley followed too. It was rather cute, as Suan kept on insisting that Ashley ought to go to their room to play with Helena. Unknown to Ann, I was planning to propose.

So in the still of the night, and the silence of the nicely decorated room, I posed the proposal and offered the ring. She looked surprised, but I was confident she would say yes. And she did. (Yes!!)

That was in March 2011. We sorted out our plans and on 5th Nov, we invited the Registrar to a joint Family Wedding lunch, where we registered our marriage witnessed by our family members. The lunch was at the Courtyard Garden, and it was a nice background to a nice wedding.

Am also very glad that my parents are healthy and happy. Guess they are glad they 'got rid' of their pesky son and can make good use of that extra room in our home. (haha!)

Ann's parents and brother have been great. They are understanding and caring. Hope not to let Ann's parents down.

But the most important person was of course, Ashley. Not everyday a little girl see their mum get married. It would have been a huge impact on her. Whilst I will never replace her dad (in fact, I always encourage her to retain contact and meet her dad as often as she can), I do hope to lead by example and try to give her a good life.

My sister is still in S'pore. Am concern that life in that island is slowly eating her up. She is so consumed with her work, just wish she could get a break. Really miss her. Wish we were closer, but I suppose we have different perspective of life.

As 2012 inches closer, I look back at the last 38 years of my life, and cherish the experiences I gain, the lessons I learn as I chart the next course of my life, now together with Ann. We look forward to 2012.

611 in 2011

2011-11-14T00:55:00.001+08:00

Its becoming more and more difficult to find quality time to write on this blog. Usual issues = work, Bar etc.. Life has been unrelenting.

Last week, celebrated a rather quiet Birthday. Was recovering after a tiring but exhilarating wedding the day before. Yeap, got married on the 5th Nov 2011 to Ann Quah.

Always felt Weddings is a little over-rated. But Weddings, to me, is about the congregation of people who are important to you. It is this meeting of old friends and relatives; which ought to be more important, than say, the colour of the ribbon on my wedding car.

I was so so pleased to see all my very close friends at the wedding. Chow Hoong was momentous as the best man. He did all he could to ensure everything went well. I am indebted to him (and really hope he will marry soon so that I can return his good deed to him. LOL).

All the other very close buddies were there too. Teh & Suan plus little Helena, Si-puteh, Yee Meng, Theam Hock, Chee Seng & Shirley, Keng Wah & wife, Sze Meng & Van, Pooi Ling (& Dom), Nien Yi & Pooi Foon.

Soon Seng could not make it; but it is understandable. To travel all the way from US just for a few days, would not be practical. In any event, we all plan to meet at Bali next June 2012, where Ann and I will "host" another wedding dinner there with all our respective buddies. We'll meet there instead.

Was pleased to see relatives of both side there too, and also some friends of my parents.

My parents & May Leen were extremely supportive. They were very understanding, and I think they made the wedding very smooth on the Wee side of the family.

Ann's parents were also very understanding. They have accepted me into their family, and I cant really ask for more.

Ashley was trying to be in the thick of action all the time. Must have been an exciting day. Not everyday one get to see their mum getting married.

But most important of all was Ann. She was calm most of the time, supportive and steady. The very spirit of a lady which charmed me to marry her.

A note of thanks to the Chi Muis who helped out and ensured Ann remained calm.

Also a note of thanks to Sarah who helped out with the macaroons and; Yip Xiaoheng and Calvin Khoo who helped out with the AV.

So after all that, 6th Nov 2011 was really a quiet day with the Wifey. Recuperating after the busy 2-3 months of planning and execution of the plans. I am 38 years old, and hope the next year will be a calm year, a steady year and most of all, hope it will be a happy year. At the end of the day, all we want to be; is Happy!

Thank you.

Kau Ilhamku

2011-09-09T01:19:00.000+08:00

The Legend of 1985

2011-08-27T01:06:00.000+08:00

NYLC Logo for 2011/12

2011-08-17T16:42:00.007+08:00

NYLC 2011 / 2012

Freedom of Speech, comes with responsibility & accountability

2011-08-16T00:47:00.001+08:00

In recent times, Malaysia sees numerous comments and announcements made by Politicians and Leaders of Organisations which borders on insults and threats based on religious and racial lines. This is somewhat unfortunate and strongly discouraged.

What is more disturbing is the reliance by the makers of these insulting comments; on the Civil Liberty to Freedom of Speech, when making these unfortunate comments.

The Federal Constitution allows and in fact guarantees the freedom of speech. Parliament has however curtailed that with the Sedition Act, which if a statement is defined to be seditious based on that Act, a person can be charged in Court.

This is somewhat an unhealthy position of the Law.

The right to free speech ought to prevail at all times. However, the person relying on that right to free speech, must also be responsible. Sedition Act may be one way to control the kind of speech and comments a person can make, but the better way though is to educate the person and the people on respecting people. It would be ideal to educate the people that if one does not like to hear an adverse comment of himself/herself; that person ought not to the same to others.

Also, freedom of speech by logic cannot mean to insult or to bully. It is incorrect to rely on the right of freedom of speech to insult or to threaten another person. And it is also incorrect to gag the person by imposing the Sedition Act.

Instead this Government, being an elected government of the people, by the mandate of the people should inspire the people and take responsible steps to ensure people are accountable and responsible when making careless and inconsiderate comments.

The ICCPR, a Convention of the United Nations also recognises that people who incites hatred, can be taken action against. Article 19 mandates sanctions against people who incites hatred. So, even the progressive organisations like UN which heavily advocates human rights through its documents like the UNDHR acknowledges that the freedom of speech does not include the right to incite hatred.

You may read more of ICCPR here.

In time, we hope the Government of Malaysia will take the lead of appointing leaders who will make responsible comments and would not tacitly promote comments by irresponsible leaders of Organisations, which is calculated to incite hatred and division amongst the people.

Inilah Barisan Kita!

2011-07-28T18:45:00.000+08:00

May Harimau Malaysia rise again!

Better Lawyers, Better Bar (From the Star 8/11/2011)

2011-07-12T12:58:00.001+08:00

link:-

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2011%2F7%2F8%2Ffocus%2F9056215&sec=focus

THE National Young Lawyers Committee of the Bar Council recently held its Young Lawyers Convention on July 1-3 in Malacca. The convention, which takes place once every three years, saw about 140 lawyers from all over Malaysia in attendance.

The theme for the convention was “Towards a Better Bar”, which is consistent with the NYLC’s project to push our lawyers, particularly the young ones, to continue improving themselves.

The logic of this is that better lawyers will likely lead to better interpretation and implementation of the law. Higher standards incorporated into our legal profession and our legal system would result in Malaysia becoming an attractive regional legal hub like Hong Kong and Singapore.

The theme also included a holistic improvement of Malaysian lawyers, to not only advocate for intellectual progress, but also for moral and benevolent development.

In fact, many times at the convention, speakers reminded lawyers to maintain the highest ethical standards, and to conduct themselves with integrity and responsibility.

The convention impressed upon the delegates that being a lawyer signifies an important professional position in society, where elements of trust and principles are intertwined with the need to maintain high intellectual capacity when discharging their duties as advocates and solicitors.

In short, it isn’t easy to be a lawyer, but if you are one, you strive to be a good lawyer and an honest one, too.

With the theme in mind, the NYLC worked closely with the Bar Council’s Continuing Professional Develop ment (CPD) Committee.

The convention discussed the need to increase the quality of the content of the CPD at the Bar. Young lawyers were urged to attend CPD classes to acquire extra knowledge on practical aspects of legal practice.

Further to this theme of self improvement, the NYLC is proposing to form Work Practice Groups (WPGs), where young lawyers can join small groups under the mentorship of senior practitioners in specialised areas of the law like international arbitration or cross-border transactions.

The aim is for young lawyers to learn better and quicker under experienced mentors.

Going global

Young lawyers were also encouraged to attend conferences and conventions overseas. Subject to costs, these international law conferences would be a gateway to international networking and learning.

Other aspects of improvement would be for the NYLC to assist young lawyers to set up their own legal firms and to learn the proper way to do so.

The NYLC will be working with a department in the Bar Council which organises the “Getting Started” seminars. These seminars provide excellent insight into the “how and what” of setting up legal firms.

The NYLC also recognises that to ensure young lawyers continue to strive for excellence, the work conditions must also be commensurate with that desire.

The prospect of better remuneration and a better working environment at legal firms would be a good driving force to ensure that young lawyers will want to improve, and to continue staying in legal practice.

Bar Council statistics show that more than 60% of the lawyers in Peninsular Malaysia are in practice for less than three years. The principal reasons for many lawyers leaving practice after the third or fourth year are usually the high level of work stress and uncertain remuneration.

It would be difficult to urge young lawyers to improve themselves when they cannot see a bright future in terms of career advancement and better remuneration.

With that in mind, the NYLC will conduct a national survey on remuneration and career advancement within the next six months to obtain statistics on the views of young lawyers on their work conditions. The results of that survey may lead to forums and dialogues with the employers of the young lawyers.

The convention also saw the re-visiting of section 42 of the Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA) which states that lawyers have a duty to uphold the cause of justice without regard to their own interests, without fear or favour, and that there is a duty to protect and assist the public in all matters ancillary or incidental to the law.

The delegates at the convention, in subscribing to the spirit and intent of the theme, spoke of their moral duties to uphold justice at all times. Section 42 of the LPA became a battle-cry in one of the sessions at the convention when discussing activism at the Bar.

When the Statement of the Con vention was issued at the end (as further described below), the delegates added a provision in the statement calling for the authorities in this country to adhere to the Federal Constitution and that the young lawyers are prepared to stand up and defend the law if the law is incorrectly and improperly implemented.

At first glance, the convention may look like a stew with too many spices or like a plate too full for the NYLC to handle. To the contrary, many spices are required to make the stew better and the varied ingredients will ensure the Bar remains progressive and at the cutting edge of the law.

A five-point statement was issued at the close of the convention. Fondly dubbed the “Malacca Statement”, reflecting the location of its birth, it reflects the theme of the convention, calling for the implementation of projects towards achieving a better Bar.

There are many classy and intelligent lawyers in Malaysia, and the Malaysian Bar is a strong Bar. Of course there may be a few bad apples among the Bar but the NYLC will focus on the strengths of the Bar and harness that quality to ensure the Bar strives forward.

The NYLC intends to challenge young lawyers who join the Bar to move outside their comfort zone and to push them to persevere and persist towards progress.

__________________

> The writer is the Chairman of the National Young Lawyers Committee. Putik Lada, or pepper buds in Malay, captures the spirit and intention of this column – a platform for young lawyers to articulate their views and aspirations about the law, justice and a civil society. For more information about the young lawyers, please visitwww.malaysianbar.org.my

Our Rights, Our Liberty

2011-07-08T13:50:00.000+08:00

The Government can Shut Down our Telecommunication,

or Block Off Our Roads

But No One, can Shut Down our Rights,

nor Block Off Our Liberties

The Convention on the horizon

2011-06-30T01:36:00.001+08:00

After intense planning and organising for the last 4 weeks or so, the Young Lawyers Convention has dawned upon us at the Bar.

Vince Chong has stepped up and took ownership of the project, together with Ms Kamala, the Executive Officer of NYLC of the Bar.

With less than 48 hours to go, before the Convention starts, we can only do so much the next day or so. Much last minute planning is on-going behind the scene.

Unfortunately the on-going detention and arrests of people behind BERSIH is depressing, not because of BERSIH, but the fact that the Law has been severely abused and used by the Government for their own means. Arbitrary declaration that BERSIH shirts are illegal without proper source of the Law is a clear sign of Dictatorial means of administration.

But arrest or no arrest, the Young Lawyers Convention 2011 goes on.

Young Lawyers Convention 2011 : Updates

2011-06-19T00:34:00.000+08:00

Below are the Sessions to be held at the Young Lawyers Convention 2011:-

1. TOPIC 1 : Liberalisation of the Bar: Are you ready for a Liberalised Bar?

TOPIC 2 : Giants of the Bar

TOPIC 3 : Professional Development Classes: Future of PDC in the Bar

3. TOPIC 4 : Working Conditions of a Young Lawyer: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

4. TOPIC 5 : Activism and the Bar: No Time or Can’t be Bothered?

TOPIC 6 : The Colorful Committees in the Bar Council

Young Lawyers Convention 2011 : Updates

2011-06-15T19:11:00.001+08:00

Another tweaking of the Logo. Bar Council going with the English name of the state of Malacca.

As of 15th June 2011, about 45 sponsored spots are available for the Young Lawyers Convention. KDU Law School has also confirmed that the School will sponsor 2 students. Sarawak Bar is also sending a delagate of either 2 or 3 Young Lawyers over.

Hopefully all will come together for this Convention. So far, so good.

Young Lawyers Convention 2011 : New Logo

2011-06-07T00:49:00.000+08:00

A slightly modified Logo for the Upcoming Convention.

Young Lawyers Convention 2011 : Tentative Program

2011-06-06T12:30:00.005+08:00

Day 1: 1 July 2011 (Friday)

12:00 pm Arrival at Everly Beach Resort

12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Check in

03:00 pm Registration

04:00 pm Opening

Opening Speech

Guest Of Honour’s Speech and Formal Launch

05:00 pm – 07:00 pm Session 1: Liberalization of the Bar & effect on Young Lawyers

07:00 pm – 08:00 pm Dinner

08:00 pm – 09:00 pm Icebreaker

Day 2: 2 July 2011 (Saturday)

09:00 am – 10.30 am Session 2: Professional Development Classes & the Future

10:30 am – 10:45 am Short Break

10:45 am – 12:30 am Session 3: Working Conditions of the Young Lawyers

12:30 am – 01:30 pm Lunch

01:30 pm – 03:00 pm Session 4: Activism and the Bar

03:00 pm – 04:00 pm Session 5: Inspiring Stories; "Giants who raised the Bar"

05:00 pm – 07:00 pm Telematch

08:00 pm Gala Dinner

Day 3: 3 July 2011 (Sunday)

09:00 am – 10:15 am Reflection

10:15 am – 10:30 am Break

10:30 am – Noon Conclusion

Young Lawyers Convention 2011 : Updates

2011-06-05T17:35:00.000+08:00

The YL Convention 2011 is about 4 weeks away.

Next week, the 'advertisement' & 'marketing' blitz for the Convention will kick start. Vince Chong, the Deputy for NYLC, has been a brilliant partner in the Organising team. He has definitely stepped up, and this augurs well for NYLC. He may one day be the next KL YLC or NYLC leader.

The Convention will host Forums and Talk-Shows on Liberalisation of the Bar & its effect on Young Lawyers; Work Conditions of the Young Lawyers and what the Bar can do and future of the Professional Development Classes at the Bar.

The theme : TOWARDS A BETTER BAR!

Entry fee is RM100 per lawyer only; with the Bar Council subsidising the balance. The fee includes accomodation and food at Everly Beach Resort, Klebang, Melaka (formerly known as Riviera Bay"). In my view, that is pretty good deal, for a 2 night package. The Resort is just beside the Klebang beach. Not the most beautiful beach in the world, but it is a private beach only for the Hotel residence.

NYLC hope to inspire the Young Lawyers to take charge of their future in the Bar, and to shape the future they want for the Bar. It all leads towards a better Bar for the future.

If you are interested, please send e-mail to Bar Council's Executive Officer at kamala@malaysianbar.org.my

Will state the name of Speakers and name of Topics in future posting.

Shape the Future!

Young Lawyers Convention 2011

2011-05-24T02:10:00.000+08:00

Come July, the National Young Lawyers Committee will host the 2011 Young Lawyers Convention. It will be held at Melaka.

Watch out for more news on that.

E-filing must be re-looked

2011-05-10T16:54:00.002+08:00

Looking at what is happening at Duta Court, particularly the filing area, I cant help but notice many younger lawyers waiting for their documents to be scanned. When asked, many informed that they have to sometimes wait for hours to get the document scanned for e-filing.

This is reminiscence of (and still ongoing) the long wait at KL Sessions and Magistrates with the fast track system, where young lawyers would have to wait wait & wait. Much time is lost, and what is worst is that there is little or nothing much to learn from all these.

The Lawyers at RWY sometime spent a few hours just to file cause papers. And even if we scan at our office and bring a CD to Court, the scanning at office itself can take a few hours if the cause papers are voluminous.

I can only conclude that this e-filing is a bane to all lawyers, and the young lawyers particularly face the brunt of the problem, having to spend so much time at Court. This wasted time can be used to learn more legal work etc etc.

Given; that any young professional would have to go through the pain or burn the midnight oil as the person starts off his/her career; but surely waiting, waiting and waiting at Courts; is not part of the bargain. The young lawyers may grow frustrated and this frustration can lead to disillusionment.

It is crucial that this e-filing system be temporary withdrawn and re-worked before implementation. We hear of contracts signed which require this to go on; but no contract can work if the users do not wholly benefit, and more negatives arise than positives. For the sake of the younger members, it is hope this can be withdrawn. NYLC is assisting the Court Liaison Comm at Bar Council to improve the system, but i personally feel, the e-filing as it is now, cannot and should not go on.

The Courts MUST re-look at the e-filing.

Malaysia, our unique home!

2011-04-15T02:08:00.000+08:00

Malaysia, our unique home!

End of KPI?

2011-04-05T01:58:00.000+08:00

Dear lawyers,

Since the new Bar Council took office in the middle of March 2011, the principle focus has been to sort out the KPI Resolution at the AGM. Re-cap : at the last Bar AGM, the members almost unanimously put a vote of no-confidence against the KPI system imposed in Court, as it has curtailed Justice at the expense of statistics.

Since then, the Office Bearers have met the CJ & gang, many times and to summarise, (as at 4th April 2011); this is more or less what has happened:-

1. OB met CJ about 2 weeks ago.

2. OB re-visited the results of a Joint meeting between Judiciary & BC in JAnuary 2011. At that meeting, a few points were agreed (adjournment issue/witness issue/force-to-close case early issue etc etc).

3. CJ inform President, no more KPI

4. OB met BC a few days after that meeting

5. BC gave mandate to OB to push thru a new Practise Direction (PD), to legislate better management of cases (adjournment/witnesses/written submission etc etc)

6. A PD was drafted and presented to CJ & gang about 10 days ago.

7. The same draft PD was discussed at the Session Court Judges/Magistrate Conference at Melaka last weekend.

8. Many phone calls exchanged between OB & CJ/CJM etc

9. Draft PD more or less agreed.

10. Meeting between OB & CJ plus gang on 4/4/2011 to iron out the draft PD

11. Now waiting for CJM (who was ill and absent at the said meeting) to revert and confirm

12. If all goes well, maybe (just maybe) a Joint Press Conference will be held between CJ & OB of BC to sort this out.

* on many occasions, Brendan Siva (Court Liaison Chair) & Rajpal Singh (Criminal Practice Comm Chair) followed OB to meet CJ & gang.

So, maybe; if all goes well, OB can make a joint announcement on this issue this week.. Keeping fingers cross, and working hard on this issue.

Thanks

Malaysia Really Boleh!

2011-04-01T12:01:00.002+08:00

We see the best of Malaysia, in the past week:-

1. No Poco-poco allowed in Perak, Fatwa of Perak's Muslim Body

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/asri-says-poco-poco-dance-healthy-not-un-islamic/

2. 3 Datuk, 1 was in a video, 2 were at Press COnference, all 3 behind the screening a sex video, apparently recording a sexual encounter between a man who look like Anwar Ibrahim. Out of the 3, one is a former UMNO man who is a former PKR man, who is now an UMNO man again. The 2nd is a former Chief Minister who allegedly fucked young Girls. The 3rd Datuk has poor management of his mustache is apparently a straight man involved in a crooked bridge contract.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/sex-video-may-strengthen-anwar-says-wsj/

3. Related to this, the very Datuk alleging that Anwar Ibrahim was in that sex video, threaten to sue people who allege that he allegedly fucked young girls when he was a Chief Minister.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/31/nation/8386267&sec=nation

4. MACC officer watch porn while interrogating Teoh Beng Hock. We now know what happened I suppose?

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/macc-man-watched-porn-in-office-says-rci/

5. No more KPI? Will Judges be more interested in statistics of case completion or achieving Justice?

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/16wee/Article

6. The Home Minister of the BN Government say Government in fair and dont like people attacking religions, but went on to 'chop', for Christians only on Bahasa Melayu Bibles.

- http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/christians-reject-putrajayas-overture-over-malay-bibles/

- http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/hisham-asks-christians-to-be-fair-and-reasonable-over-alkitab/

- http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bible-society-collects-stamped-alkitab-as-museum-piece/

7. A member of Parliament, representing the best of Malaysia attacks ladies as poor drivers, received criticism for that from Women, and then allege the criticism is 'sexual harassment'. Classic!

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/accused-of-sexism-bung-cries-sexual-harassment/

Malaysia, Truly Boleh!

Our Country

2011-03-23T12:18:00.000+08:00

Our Country continue to fall deeper into an abyss of Immorality &; Impropriety, when we have High Court decisions allowing usage of a DNA which was improperly obtained but deem appropriate merely because the arrest of the person is lawful.

Our Country continue to see the corruption of the mind and soul of young Malaysians with sex scandals merely to get rid of 1 man. Where the laws are clear that to produce or to show pornographic material is illegal; Instead the producer or person showing the video is protected; and the actors in the video is imputed.

Our Country continue to be plundered by people who deem power & money to be the ultimate end product of governance; when in fact a government is to inspire & lead the people to a better country.

Our Country continue to be seduced by those in power with promised money from overseas, projects, & developments. The infrastructure &; economy of a country is the primary objective of a modern Country; but no amount of money can cure the destruction of morality &; integrity amongst the people.

Dear friends, we MUST take Our Country back from the immorals &; the corrupters.

BC : Fund raising for Japanese Tsunami victims?

2011-03-20T18:30:00.000+08:00

Dear readers,

Will have the letters "BC" on title of postings which relates to the Bar Council from now onwards.

As BC continue to sort out the KPI Resolution and also the fiasco of e-filing at Courts, a proposal to set up a fund-raising campaign for the victims of the Japanese tsunami, was put forward to BC. BC will meet this Tuesday at 3pm. This issue may be discussed at that emergency meeting.

The emergency meeting is called as BC try to finalise the push to dismantle some aspects of the KPI system at Courts. There have been some positive breakthrough with the CJ & gang. By Monday (21/3/2011) BC may issue a press release on this.

The e-filing issue is also being sorted out. Unfortunately many BC members dont have sufficient information about the e-filing to propose changes or amendments. However a common theme amongst the BC members is to propose a temporary halt of the e-filing system until such time the Courts get their house in order for that.

Thanks.

To Protect & To Defend

2011-03-16T23:57:00.000+08:00

Took Office at Bar Council on Saturday. It was a new experience. After 6 years at KL Bar, the 1st meeting at Bar Council was a little different.

We wont know which Committee we will lead, though I have indicated that I am keen to help out the National Young Lawyers Committee.

It is my hope to deal with the Policy issues troubling the Bar; and help to defend & protect the Bar. Some issues which need addressing now, is the KPI at Courts and now the nonsensical e-filing, also at Courts. At the BC, I hope to instigate change in the mindset of the BC members; particularly the Office Bearers to focus more of the needs of the members.

However, the interest of the people must also continue. I am not at all suggesting to stop concentrating on important public related Committees like Legal Aid, MyConsti & Human Rights. But the BC, particularly must look inwards to the Bar before dealing with public issues. The perception (rightly or wrongly) of the members is that BC is weak (particularly in KPI issues).

Of course BC have carried out many successful projects like the Yayasan for Legal Aid, the MyConsti campaign etc. But we can do more especially to protect the profession.

Anyway, no use writing and talking of this stuff if one cant do the work. I hope to carry out whatever work I can instead of just talking & promising.

The interrogation

2011-03-09T22:34:00.000+08:00

Regulate Will Writing Enterprise in Malaysia

2011-03-05T02:48:00.002+08:00

This is a proposed motion to be tabled at the 65th Malaysian Bar AGM on 12th March 2011.

Proposed Motion calling upon the Government of Malaysia to regulate the Will Writing Enterprises in Malaysia.

Preamble:-

Recognising the fact that writing a Will is a crucial and significant, financial and personal decision that someone may make;

Recognising the need to protect consumers keen in engaging Will Writers in Malaysia;

Recognising the current practise where Will Writers may not be necessarily legally trained.

The Motion:-

The Malaysian Bar calls upon the Government of Malaysia to effectively regulate the Will Writing Industry in Malaysia.

The Malaysian Bar calls upon the Government of Malaysia to impose a rule that a Will Writer ought to have Legal Qualification, as a minimal standard;

Alternatively the Malaysian Bar suggests that the Government of Malaysia conduct Trainings and Courses leading to a Diploma or Certificate in Will Writing, which may be held at our Institutions of Higher Learning; to train the current and future Will Writers.

Dated : 3rd March 2011

House Breaking: The Rape of your sanctuary

2011-01-08T10:22:00.001+08:00

In Petaling Jaya, it is very common to see a Home, with these :-

1. Alarm

2. CCTV

3. Triple lock (some quandraple)

4. Guards

These are measure that Home owners take to safeguard the safety of their home. Despite these efforts, people's house still get broken in. Last year, my family home was broken in (have said that a few times already on this blog). A few days ago, a neighbor, living 2 doors away had their house broken in too. My neighbor's sister at Taman Megah also suffered a break in on the same day.

Today, in the Star, you will read the news about the famous blogger Rocky Bru. His house was broken 2 nights ago. This is despite the fact his house is guarded and also he triple locked his home. He lost his car, his son's scooter and some watches (amongst others).

We may need expert and statistics to support some contention that our Police is weak, but if we speak from what we see and we feel, one cant help but conclude that one major reason for the rampant house breaking in Klang Valley is due to weak policing. Corruption is a major problem. When an organisation is filled with corrupt officers, eventually it will lead to breakdown of the system at that organisation. This issue has been raised perhaps a million times in news & blogs in Malaysia; but seriously, how much has been done to ensure the Police do what they are legally paid to do; ie to protect & ensure safety of the people of Malaysia.

I feel for Rocky Bru. It is not what one lose in a house breaking which hurts; but it is the intrusion into a person's sanctuary.

Once one's home is broken in; it never feels the same again.

Fear crepts in to the resident of the broken home.

Confidence is low.

Suspicion is high.

Victims of homes broken in, more often than not, dont live in full enjoyment of their home anymore. There is always that niggling fear that when you return home, you may either find your home broken or worst, bump into the perpetrators themselves.

One day; if this Government is not politically concern enough to genuinely and honestly enforce powerful ant-corruption laws; not morally concern enough to ensure the People whom it govern, feels safe; not legally imposing laws on the very people who is suppose to police us, then this country may see a breakdown in the soul of the system. When people dont believe in the system anymore, than we wont be a country, but just a big cowboy town.

On a personal note, on many occasion when family or friends meet up; we inadvertently talk about this issue. It seems like more and more of my friends and relatives suffer house breaking crimes. We should be talking about Malaysia winning Suzuki Cup; or the upcoming Chinese New year. Instead, the conversations is usually dominated by fear of our safety and lives.

It is sad, that discussions and conversations amongst family members/friends is no more about celebration of life; but the fear of living.

Pleading your case, Bargaining your way through

2011-01-07T15:30:00.002+08:00

What is Plea Bargaining? It is a process of negotiation in criminal litigation between the Prosecutor & the Accused. It is common to see Plea Bargaining in TV series about lawyers and police. So, we may have our own perception on how plea bargaining works. But the reality in Malaysia, is a little different than what you see on TV.

Usually Plea Bargaining is used to avoid a Trial, and at the stage of plea bargaining; both the Prosecution and Defence, can gauge their respective strengths. If one of the parties feel they may not have a strong case, plea bargaining may be an option. For the Prosecution, so long as a conviction is recorded, they may have done their part; and conversely for the Defence, if they can lower the sentence of the Accused (or in some cases, secure a release) that would be a moral victory to the Accused.

In Malaysia, as a matter of practise, lawyers defending the Accused, would usually write to the Prosecution, what is normally called a “Letter of Representation”. Very much like Plea Bargaining, the Letter of Representation would present the views and proposals of the Accused to the Prosecution. Usually the said Letter would urge the Prosecution to either release the Accused; or charge the Accused for a lower offence.

The proposed Plea Bargaining procedure by the Malaysian Judiciary, recently reported in local dailies, suggests that the judiciary wish to have in place a specific procedure to allow both parties to negotiate an acceptable conclusion before presenting the same to the Judge. From the Judge’s point of view, this would mean quicker end to the case; which would also mean lesser costs and more judicial time to hear other cases.

There is much benefit to have this system in place, but caution must be placed in its implementation. As the President of the Bar, Ragunath Kesavan, was quoted to say in another daily, Plea Bargaining is not a new concept in Malaysia. In fact, what the judiciary proposed, seems to formalize what is already in place, in practice.

But the implementation must be carefully studied, so as to avoid the possibility of abuse and corrupt practise. The current practise of sending in Letter of Representation can be a slow and sometime cumbersome process. But it has its merits, in that it minimize the possibility of corruption. The Letter of Representation from the Accused is usually studied by the State Prosecution Headquarters, and after some discussion between the prosecution and the Police or other relevant agencies, the Prosecution will decide which way they wish to take.

Plea Bargaining, done in Court itself, would see both parties having direct communication and discussion on the matter. Some kind of discretion would have to be given to the Prosecution Officer at that Court to decide which way the case may go. This would be much faster than the current system, but there must be check and balance so as to avoid the parties involved, abusing the plea bargaining process.

We have to take into account another silent party in the entire Plea Bargaining, and that would be the victim of the crime (or in some cases, the family of the victim).

The victims, would normally wish to have their day in court, and would usually demand the maximum sentence on the Accused. If Plea Bargaining is too loosely applied, leading to (for example) lower sentences in many cases, then we would have a fair amount of unsatisfied victims, who may feel that justice was not done.

In most instances, plea bargaining would lead to a lower sentence for the Accused. That being the usual conclusion of Plea Bargaining, the victims of the crime may feel that they were denied an opportunity for their day in court & also, as mentioned, the sentence meted out was an injustice to them.

However, any proposed move to improve the delivery of legal services to the people is much appreciated. Hopefully, Plea Bargaining can go some way to help clear the backlog in Criminal Courts.

TBH Inquest : The Verdict in a Nutshell

2011-01-06T01:51:00.000+08:00

The Teoh Beng Hock (TBH) Inquest was held to investigate the death of TBH on 16 July 2009.

At the Inquest, these facts emerged:-

TBH was interviewed at the Selangor State Government building in the afternoon of 15 July 2009 by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). He was then asked by MACC officers to follow them to the Selangor MACC Office at Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam on the same day. On 16 July 2009, about 1 o’ clock in the afternoon, TBH’s body was discovered at the service corridor of Plaza Masalam.

The judge in such an Inquest is called a Coroner. The Coroner in these Inquests will try to ascertain on how a person died. The Coroner may conclude that the deceased was killed or the death was accidental. In some instances, the Coroner may conclude suicide.

On 5 January 2011, the Coroner in the TBH Inquest made the following conclusions:-

1. Was it suicide?

The Coroner first considered if TBH had committed suicide. The Coroner ruled suicide out. He felt that the testimony provided by TBH’s brother, Teoh Meng Kee revealed that TBH was supposed to get married and had no psychological illness. Further, the so-called suicide note was inconclusive. The Coroner pointed out that the said note has not been ascertained to contain TBH’s handwriting. Secondly, no sample of TBH’s writing was obtained for purposes of investigation and examination.

The Coroner also pointed out that no psychiatrist report was provided on TBH’s state of mind. On these evidences, the Coroner felt that if he was to conclude suicide as the cause of death, it would have been some form of guess work. He refused to do so and ruled out suicide as mentioned above.

2. Was there homicide?

The Coroner referred to the evidences provided by the medical experts at the Inquest. He concluded that there exists sufficient evidence to confirm that TBH suffered a pre-fall injury. The pre-fall injury was the neck injury. However, the Coroner felt that there was lack of evidence to confirm that the neck injury facilitated or resulted, or contributed to the demise of TBH.

The Coroner also took into account the medical evidence that the neck injury most likely caused TBH to be in such a state that would render TBH incapable of exiting the window on his own. The medical evidence suggest that the neck injury on TBH may have rendered him unconscious or in a state of confusion. Apparently the neck injury could have caused a reduction in the level of oxygen reaching the brains of TBH. However the Coroner felt the evidence before him was not sufficient beyond reasonable doubt, that there exists homicide.

3. Verdict

In conclusion, the Coroner felt that the only decision that he can come to is a finding of an Open Verdict. An Open Verdict would mean that the cause of death cannot be determined in the Inquest.

(See alternative posting at www.loyarburok.com)

Racism at UMNO?

2011-01-05T23:19:00.001+08:00

We are the Champions!

2011-01-02T02:13:00.001+08:00

Malaysia won the AFF Cup aka Suzuki Cup just before the end of 2010. What a way to celebrate the new year!

Close friends of mine would know that I love football, particularly my State team, Perak; my favorite English team, Everton, and of course Malaysia.

However the Malaysian National football team (& for that matter, to a large extent; Perak too) has been so poor for so many years, that no matter how loyal I want to be, it was just too disheartening to support them. Please dont judge me as a supporter of only-winning-teams (if that is my criteria of supporting a team, I wont be supporting Everton); but it was down to the way Malaysia played. The National team for many years played poorly. We could not string more than 3 passes. Got beaten by lesser pedigree teams. Suspected of corruption. etc etc.

But on the 26th December, we played very well to beat Indonesia 3-0 at the first leg of the 2-leg final of the AFF Cup. Chow Hoong & I went for that match, and the atmosphere was thrilling. 65000 Malaysians supporting our boys, and they did not disappoint.

Half way through the 1st half, Chow Hoong turned to me and said "these boys link-play is bloody good. I think we can actually take on Indonesia". I could not agree more. Before our very eyes, we see a group of young Malaysian players trying their best to win for the Country, and they tried it in style.

When we both walked out of the Bukit Jalil Stadium, a sense of pride surrounded us. We just saw our boys beat the hell out of the favorite Indonesian team (who beat us 5-1 in Jakarta in the opening group match a few weeks ago).

Surprisingly, the tension was overwhelming the next few days. A team leading 3-0 should be relaxed and composed; but I think the sense of fear to fail overwhelmed the entire nation. They was a massive fear that we would collapse, as our National team always do at the last stage.

But that did not happen. We held our fort at Jakarta for the 2nd leg, and took a 1-0 lead in the 65th min. That effectively gave us a 4 goal lead in aggregate. Even though we lost that match 1-2, but we still won 4-2 on aggregate.

I was in Singapore during the 2nd leg, and the overwhelming feeling of pride and joy was all over me. For too long Malaysian fans has suffered in silence, and finally, we could happily celebrate a win. We are finally, the Champions of South East Asia!

There were allegations that Malaysian fans shot laser lights at the Indonesian players at Bukit Jalil stadium. I was at the stadium, and did see some laser lights shot at the Indonesian goalkeeper. It was unfortunate it happened, and though we are not 100% sure it was done by Malaysian fans; but I think it is safe to conclude that it is very unlikely that the Indonesian fans would shoot laser at their own player. In any event, the 3 goals scored by the Malaysians at Bukit Jalil was more down to determined play and poor defending by Indonesians (& not the alleged laser lights).

Well done Malaysia & Happy New Year!

2010, Goodbye! 2011, Hello!

2010-12-14T01:25:00.003+08:00

Professionally, Year 2010 started off painfully, for me. The Firm disintegrated in the space of days during the early days of 2010. What started of as a disagreement of management style turn into an unfortunate hostile situation between the partners. At the end of the day, Richard Wee Lopez closed & re-emerged as Richard Wee & Yip.

I will not forget the many great conversations I had with Sunil. He was (& still is) in my books a nice chap. Unfortunately, things got in the way and the firm split.

Thank God, Yip joined us earlier in December 2009. He was suppose to be the 4th partner in the then known firm of RWL, but we ended up how we started our legal career; as colleagues. Yip and I were colleagues at David Lingam & Co, when I first started my legal career as a legal assistant. I must say we worked well together then, and still do work together now.

Thank you Yip (if you are reading this) for standing by me, and supporting what I believe was the best (though painful) decision I had to take for the firm.

We have progressed fairly well this year. We grew from 1 clerk in February to 1 para-legal, 2 legal associates & 3 clerks.

We had a very tough time in July to August when we were severely short of staff. A staff left & never returned to office (despite promising to return as part time in August); and another staff was on maternity. Somehow, Yip & I survived; and we now look forward to the new year. Hopefully, RWY will be better in the delivery of our service, as we strive to be one of the top firms in town.

On a personal note, I have found a person whom I feel I can live with for many years to come. It was a surprise that we are together, but I suppose love comes when you least expect. Thanks Ann for always supporting; particularly during those trying and searching times, piecing things together at the new firm.

Also, we moved to a new Home. Its nice! After 'squatting' at my sisters house since 2003, finally, I have a place of my own.

My buddies Soon Seng remains in US & Teh (& Yee Suan) remains in Spore. The other close buddies (CH/YM/TT Hock/Sze Meng/KW) are all over town, and we still meet each other, every now and then. It is great that after almost 20 years, we are still meeting up.

Speaking of 20 years, the St Michael's Institution, SPM 1990 class had our 20 years re-union just a few weeks ago. It was surreal to meet so many old old friends again, since we left school in 1990. Many of them; I have not met since we all walked out of the SPM Exam hall back that year. The PJ Hilton re-union dinner was well received & I suspect we will meet again, sooner rather than later.

At the Bar, I offered myself as a candidate for election & I garnered enough votes to be elected to Bar Council next term. After serving KL Bar since 2005, this will be a new challenge & hopefully, I can effect change at BC. Must say thanks to many close friends in the Bar. Too many to name here; but still; THANK YOU for the support.

Everton. Everton continue to bring its supporters along a roller coaster flight. We go up and down so much; I dont even know what is going to happen in the next few months. We ended strongly last season; but as this piece is written, Everton is just 2 points above relegation. Please lah David Moyes, please change the way you play and exert more strikers in our system.

My family remains intact. My parents have been the super-rock in my live. They have been supportive in my relationship, helps me out at my firm (mum is quasi office manager & dad is our Commissioner for Oath). Without the rock-solid support they gave me (& the firm) I dare say; I may have slipped away in oblivion.

Leen is still working hard in Singapore. I wish I can earn more, so that Leen dont need to work so hard in Singapore. Hardly get to see her nowadays, and I do miss our usual Sunday lunches (when she was still working in KL) where she and I would zoom all over town to makan Yut Kee food/Jalan TAR Chilli Pan Mee/Ismail Briyani at TTDI etc etc. She will always be my dear sister, the sister who always believed that I could do it.

Well, in a few days time, we take a slow step to 2011. I will be 38 years old next year, and as age catches up, I hope I can continue to do whatever I can to make Malaysia a better place for the betterment of my family & friends.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011 !

Hard work starts now!

2010-12-05T02:08:00.001+08:00

The election

Got the sms from George Varughese about 5pm on 1st December 2011; that the campaign to be elected ended with success. It was a great feel to win sufficient votes to get in, and now; the hard work starts.

The last few months, whenever speaking to lawyers; the dissatisfaction can be heard in their voices. For a combination of reasons, the members are just not happy with the BC.

So I suppose this election would mean, inter alia; being send in to do some work and bring confidence back to members.

Thank you

There are many friends which must be thanked. There were many friends who helped out campaigning, giving feedbacks, ideas & advise; during the BC election month. Much thanks to you all.

Lee Shih & Syah wrote the introduction piece on the Bar Website. Thank you to them. It was a nicely written introduction. Tuan Haji Sulaiman also agreed to nominate me. His strong name no doubt helped the campaign. Chee Hoe also agreed to nominate when Lee Shih had to be in Singapore that time. Much thanks to Chee Hoe who agreed to support the nomination at the last minute.

What are the plans for BC?

Before the campaign started, in my mind, I have an idea of what I wish to do for the BC next term. At the moment, I am refining the ideas and proposed projects by speaking to as many lawyers as I can. I suppose when it is nearer to March 2011 next year, would I then know which Committee I will lead. Hopefully it will be NYLC.

But at the moment, the idea is to bring back pride to the BC. Members must be proud of BC. Members must be able to feel confident with BC. Can this be done? What needs to be done? Who can help out? These are issues which needs to be ironed out before work can start in March 2011.

End of Election Month

2010-11-30T15:20:00.000+08:00

The Bar Council election to elect the new Committee for the next term, ends today.

Come what may, this being the first attempt of mine to get elected has opened my eyes (& ears) to people's views & comments. Only when one runs for election, would one be able to feel the pulse of the members & embrace their views.

It is amazing how the members would open up to a candidate for a BC election the moment they hear that I am running for a place. Some would immediately launch into an attack of BC. Some would praise BC. Some would just tell you want they want BC to do. But the members always, have something to say.

What the election has impressed upon me, is the level of expectation expected from a member of a BC member. Whoever elected for BC next term, may have to work on these expectations. Some of the expectations are not realistic; but some are genuine (& unfortunately BC may not have met their expectations).

At the end of the day; this is a volunteer work. But I ran for a place at BC because I enjoy organising things & getting things done. I want to see things change. I want to improve the Bar. And the last few years; I feel I have done that at KL Bar. Even if not elected: knowing how I feel about the Bar; I will still serve the Bar.

Of course some members have said that a BC member (volunteer or not) has to take the flak from member because no one ask that person to run for election; and that person inflicted it upon him/herself. That is a point I would agree. If I ask you to vote for me: I would do whatever I can do ensure that moral authority of that vote would not go to waste. And hopefully; I wont fail or at least I wont fail too badly.

With the results to be announced in a the days to come; I wanted to pen this down to thank the many many friends who spoke out in support; send me sms/facebook messages (informing me they have voted for me), the twitter supports etc etc. Actually; there are no winners at the election; as the only one who wins are the members who bothered to bother. Members who cared to care. Members who talked the talk. The election allowed the members to speak up and speak out. Democracy won at the end of the day.

Elected or not; the election month have been an one interesting for me. Thank you!

(Pardon the "I" in the above posting. Its not good to write with many "I" but this one is to emphasis my personal feelings)

Updated version : Candidate Watch 2010

2010-11-07T09:35:00.003+08:00

Dear readers (particularly members of the Bar)

Below is an updated version of the Candidate Watch questions posed to Bar Council election candidates. The updated version took into account some constructive and concerned comments from fellow members of the Bar.

However, the original version uploaded a few days ago, remains on this Blog and can be seen below.

Hopefully this updated version would clarify some issues raised by members.

My thanks to members who shown concerns and desire for a better Bar, and posing some challenging and difficult questions to me.

Regards,

Richard Wee

(As at 7/11/2010)

Kuala Lumpur Young Lawyers Committee

Candidate Watch Campaign

List of questions

1. In not more than 80 words, please provide a brief introduction about yourself and how you perceive yourself as a legal practitioner.

Currently, I'm a partner at Richard Wee & Yip, and our practice leans towards litigation services. Our fellow peers would best judge of the kind of practitioner I am. Nevertheless, the principle of a fair and honest practice guides me

2. Which committee would you seek to chair and what are your aspirations and intentions for the said committee during your tenure? If you do not intend to chair a committee, please state your reasons for the same and tell us what do you intend to achieve during your tenure as a Council Member?

Honestly, any Committee will do, though currently, I am inclined to chair the National Young Lawyers Committee (NYLC).

Regardless of my preferences, any committee tasked to me would be reviewed and eventually changes will be made and projects with long term gains will be implemented.

Whenever I am involved in committees at the Bar, i would ensure such long term gains will continue to flourish even when a new Chair takes over.

Should I chair NYLC, it would be imperative to reform NYLC into a policy making Committee, acting as a “Representative Committee”, to represent and ventilate the views of the younger members at Council. For example, the current Court system has adversely imposed itself on the lives of lawyers. I feel that perhaps the NYLC should communicate with the Judiciary t resolve issues affecting our young lawyers, who are spending far too much time waiting at Court and not enough time providing quality legal services.

3. The issue of setting a term limit for members serving the Bar Council has attracted many supporters as well as detractors. Do you think that there should be a term limit for members to be in the Bar Council? Please provide reasons for your answer.

Definitely a term ought to be fixed. Issues such as how long a term, or how long must a Council member be on ‘sabbatical’ before returning to Bar Council, needs further deliberation. However, I am inclined to support any motion to limit the term of a Council member to no more than 4 terms and perhaps a year off, before allowing that member to return.

While I support this principle, allow me to state that I have been fortunate to work with some Council members who have been at Council for a few years already, and they are hardworking and genuinely wants to improve the Bar. Nonetheless, without casting any aspersions on these senior Council members, my personal view is that (generally speaking) a fixed term policy would be more positive to ensure fresh and alternative lawyers are able to serve on the Council.

4. Based on feedback received, many Young Lawyers are leaving the profession because of perceived deteriorating working conditions at the Bar. What are your views about the working conditions that Young Lawyers are being subjected to and how would you seek to improve these conditions?

Back in 2005, the YLC then made a survey and found that a significant number of young lawyers left the Bar by their 3^rd year in practise. The usual lament received by the YLC at that time was the long working hours and imbalanced lifestyle.

The Bar (perhaps through NYLC) should revisit the matter of working conditions. Back in 2007/08 a Survey was done by NYLC on this issue and that survey can be revisited and reviewed.

If the younger members feel practise is overwhelming, the Bar may consider taking steps to equalise that. Perhaps dialogues with employers may be a solution to explore.

However, in fairness, I also wish to put forward the view that fresh lawyers, must also learn to adapt to the system they are in. Working life is tough, and that's a given. We have to continually examine our lifestyle and be honest with ourselves and understand the nature of our work. Whether we are efficient or are able to improve, these are questions which we have to constantly thrust on ourselves.

We cannot simply point towards tough working conditions and hope for the Council to be our saviour. Although the Council should look out for its lawyers’ wellbeing, a line has to be drawn between equalising a situation and babysitting a lawyer.

5. The Johor Bar and the Penang Bar have recently held EGMs, inter alia, to obtain feedback in relation to the Fast Track System implemented by the judiciary which places emphasis on a Key Performance Index (“KPI”). Has the quality of justice dispensed by the Courts suffered as a result of the KPI that has been put into place? What would you do to improve the situation?

Litigation used to be slow. It took years to finish one case, in the former system.

But now, cases are moving so fast, sometimes, I feel like the Road Runner when I am Court. Running here and there, just to attend to matters at Court.

Nevertheless, the Judiciary’s newly acquired desire to move things fast, should be retained. However, the new system must be in aid of justice, not mere expediency at the expense of fairness.

We should be debating on new principles of law in Court, and not whether an adjournment can be granted (especially when another Court wants to hear a case on the same day.)

What would I do? Well, it’s too late to revert to the old system, so we must just tweak the current format to work. Solutions can range from dialogues with Judiciary and (if need be) a mass protest at Court (though I hope we can avoid the latter and only do that as a final resort)

6. Do you think the Solicitor’s Remuneration Order (SRO) has achieved the objectives it was put in place for? Do you think more should be done by the Bar Council to ensure adherence to the SRO or alternatively, should the SRO be done away with all together?

For the record, I am in support of the SRO and would support any proposal to fully enforce the SRO.

In principle, the SRO was always meant to help the people, so that when they engage the services of a lawyer to purchase property, they would know how much to pay. The SRO is to ensure that lawyers compete on quality & and not price. If all our fees are the same, then we should be competing on who is better at delivering their services, instead on who is giving a better discount. I would have thought that, that would be the ideal way to practise.

But in reality discount-giving transactions are rampant, and for that reason many firms who do not give discounts, do not offer conveyancing services as their primary service.

Can an enforcement rule be imposed? I would say, it is not logical to spend so much time and effort just to ensure members don’t give discount. The Bar has tried hard in recent years to ensure SRO will be complied but the effort seems in vain (particularly taking into account the recent High Court decision declaring the SRO Enforcement rules to be void).

Perhaps the Bar would have to leave it to members to sort it out and eventually do away with the SRO.

My personal message to lawyers who provide huge discounts to bring in the ‘bulk work’ is this - when a lawyer compromises on price too much, eventually quality will be compromised too. And the only one who suffers, is the client. If you (for example) wish other professionals, like Doctors, to treat us well when we are ill, then please think of the same when you do the Conveyancing matter. You too are a professional, and you should ensure all the papers are in order to protect the interest of that client. But I suppose if some lawyers can still do that AND give discounts, then we should just leave it at that.

7. What are your views on the failure of the Attorney-General to bring charges against the individuals named by the Royal Commission of Inquiry in their findings on the leaked video-clips vis a vis judicial appointments? What action do you propose the Bar Council take?

Its extremely disappointing that in the face of an obvious indiscretion (and what more confirmed by the Royal Commission themselves) the AG decided not to charge those individuals.

The Bar Council already ‘walked’ at Putrajaya when the video first appeared. Perhaps the Bar can raise this issue internationally to create awareness of this scandal. And at home here, the Bar would have to look at other avenues to raise our concerns. Perhaps, the next place we should walk to, is Parliament.

Reply to 'Candidate Watch' questions

2010-11-05T00:54:00.002+08:00

Wish to state my appreciation for KL YLC's latest effort to help the Bar and improve our election system. Bravo!

Below are my replies to the questions send to me as a Candidate for the Bar Council Elections 2011/12.

Thank you.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Kuala Lumpur Young Lawyers Committee

Candidate Watch Campaign

List of questions

1. In not more than 80 words, please provide a brief introduction about yourself and how you perceive yourself as a legal practitioner.

Currently a partner at Richard Wee & Yip, and our practise leans towards litigation services. Our fellow peers would best judge the kind of practitioner I am, but practising fairly and honestly, would be the principles which guides me at work

Honestly, any Committee will do, though the current inclination is towards National Young Lawyers Committee (NYLC).

Any committee tasked to me, would be reviewed and eventually changes will be made and projects with long term benefit will be implemented.

Whenever involved in committees the Bar, my usual modus operandi is to implement projects and schemes which will continue to go on and flourish even when a new Chair takes over.

On NYLC, should that Committee be tasked to me, it would be imperative to reform NYLC into a policy making Committee which would act as a representative Committee, to represent and ventilate the views of the younger members at Council. Particularly the current Court system has definitely imposed itself on the lives of lawyers, and perhaps NYLC may be the correct platform to correspond with the Judiciary over issues affecting young lawyers who are spending more and more hours waiting at Court.

Definitely a term ought to be fixed. But how long a term, and how long must a Council member be on ‘sabbatical’ before returning to Bar Council, needs more deliberation. However, I am inclined to support any motion to limit the term of a Council member to no more than 4 terms and perhaps a 1 year off, before allowing that member to return.

Whilst I am in support of this principle, allow me to state that I have been fortunate to work with some Council members who have been at Council for a few years already, and they are hardworking and genuinely wants to improve the Bar. Nonetheless, without casting any aspiration on these senior Council members, my personal view is that (as a general rule) a fixed term rule would be more positive to ensure fresh and alternative lawyers goes into Council too.

Back in 2005, the YLC then made a survey and found that a significant number of young lawyers left the Bar by their 3^rd year in practise. The usual lament the YLC received at that time was the long working hours and an imbalance lifestyle.

The Bar (perhaps through NYLC) should review the working conditions issue again. Back in 2007/08 a Survey was done by NYLC on this issue and that survey can be revisited and reviewed.

If the younger members feel practise is overwhelming, the Bar may consider taking steps to equalise that. Perhaps dialogues with Employers may be a solution to explore.

However, I also wish to put forward a view that lawyers or anyone who just started working out there, must also learn to adapt and adopt to the system they are in. Working life is tough, period! So an alternative is; for lawyers to review their lifestyle and also be honest with ourselves and see how we work. Perhaps we are not efficient enough? Perhaps we can improve here and there?

We cant just point towards a tough working condition and hope Council solves that. Yes, Council should look out for lawyers’ wellbeing but a line has to be drawn between equalising a situation and babysitting a lawyer.

Litigation used to be slow. It takes years to finish one case. But now, cases are moving so fast, sometimes, I feel like a Road Runner when I am Court. Running here and there, just to attend to matters at Court. The Judiciary’s newly acquired desire to move things fast, should be retained, but must be tampered and measured based on Justice.

We should be debating on new principles of Law in Court, not whether an adjournment can be granted as another Court wants to hear a case on the same day.

What would I do? Well, it’s too late to revert to the old system, so we must just tweak the current format to work. Solution can range from dialogues with Judiciary and (if need be) a mass protest at Court (though I hope we can avoid the latter and only do that as a final resort)

The SRO was always meant to help the people, so that when they engage the services of a lawyer to purchase property, they would know how much to pay. The SRO is to ensure that lawyers compete on quality & and not price. If all our fees are the same, then we should be competing on who is better at delivering their services, instead on who is giving a better discount. I would have thought that, that would be the ideal way to practise.

But in reality discounts is rampant, and for that reason many firms who do not give discounts, do not offer conveyancing services as their primary service.

Can an enforcement rule be imposed? I would say, it is not logical to spent so much time and effort just to ensure members don’t give discount. The Bar has tried hard in recent years to ensure SRO will be complied and perhaps the Bar would have to leave it to members to sort it out and eventually do away with the SRO.

Its extremely disappointing that in the face of an obvious indiscretion (& what more confirmed by the Royal Commission themselves) the AG decided not to charge those individuals.

(7/11/2010 : Please see updated version above.)

The projects at the Bar

2010-11-02T17:15:00.001+08:00

As some of you would know by now, I have offered myself as a candidate for the Bar Council Election 2011/12. A few of my friends have asked what I have been involved in at the Bar. Below I append some of the projects that I was part of.

This is merely a list to share with you of the projects/work that I was part of. Thanks.

2005/06

1. Chairperson of Kuala Lumpur Young Lawyers Committee.

Major Projects for that term-

- Amendments of S46A(1) LPA 1976

- Inaugural Charity Nite

- Bridging gaps between YLC and Law Faculties/Colleges through workshops/seminars etc

- Promoted & conducted PDC (then known as CLE) programmes.

- Promoted Human Right.

- Initiated the Web Reporters programme for the Malaysian Bar Website.

2. Committee Member of Organising Committee of the Malaysian Law Conference 2005

2006/07

1. Chairperson of KLYLC

Major Projects for that term

- Maintenance of previous terms projects

- Cross Border meeting with the Singapore Young Lawyers Committee, at the POLA Conference 2006 at Singapore.

- Successfully persuaded the Government of Malaysia to abolish s46A(1)a LPA, thus the provision barring lawyers practising less than 7 years to be candidates for Bar elections, is abolished

2. Deputy Chairperson of NYLC

Major Projects for that term

- Revamping the NYLC as per the Selesa Workshops, resulting in the blueprint “Selesa Conclusion”.

- successfully persuaded the Government of Malaysia to abolish s46A(1)a LPA, thus the provision barring lawyers practising less than 7 years to be candidates for Bar elections, is abolished

- organised Forums/Seminars on National issues

- initiated the “Young Lawyers Personality Interview series” on the Malaysian Bar Website.

- Promoted the Web Reporters programme, nationwide

- Part of the Fund Raising team, raising funds for the Orang Asli Settlement at Johor, victims of the infamous Johor Flood in December 2006.

3. Member of the TANGKAP initiative, producing the initial REDBOOK, summarising the rights of individuals when dealing with Police, particularly in issues of arrest, search and/or remand.

4. Member of the Bar Council team in the Royal Commission of Inquest investigating issues of Police Powers for Bodily Search (investigation of the Video Recording of a lady forced to perform nude squats, in a police station)

5. Committee Member of the Organising Committee of the Malaysian Law Conference 2007.

2007/08

1. Committee Member of Kuala Lumpur Bar, Chairing the Pupils Welfare Committee (PWC).

Major Projects of PWC

- initiated a pamphlet to guide pupils on the procedures during

pupilage

- organised inaugural Legal Career Fair in January 2008

2. Member of NYLC at Bar Council

3. Committee Member of the Lawasia Law Conference 2008. Principle Committee Member for Social events, including the Opening Ceremony/Welcoming Reception at Carcosa Seri Negara/Gala Dinner.

2008/09

1. Committee Member of KL Bar, Chairing the Information Technology Committee.

Major Projects :-

- Introducing Facebook/Twittter pages for KL Bar

- Setting up of inaugural KL Bar Blog

- Series of Forums on national issues related IT Law

2. Member of Human Rights Committee, Bar Council

- Oversee the publication and distribution of the REDBOOK Pamphlet

3. Committee Member of NYLC

- raised funds for the Palestine Funds by MERCY Malaysia.

4. Member of the Anti- No Fault Liability Task Force of the Bar Council

- The Task Force successfully manage to persuade the AG against the idea of transforming the fault based tort action to a no fault liability action, in Personal Injury/Accident cases.

2009/2010

1. Honorary Secretary of Kuala Lumpur Bar

2. Committee Member of KLBC, Chairing Information Technology Committee

Major Projects

- Total revamp of KL Bar Website. Designed to generate more income via advertisements.

3. Member of Human Rights Committee, Bar Council

4. Member of NYLC, Bar Council

- part of Organising team in joint project with UNICEF on Child

rights issues

5. Appointed as Solicitor to represent the Malaysian Bar for watching brief at Inquest investigating the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

2010/2011

1. Committee Member KLBC, Chairing Information Technology Committee

Major projects

- IT Law Forum at KDU on 12^th November 2010

- Reviewing the Membership and Payment System Software of KL Bar.

- Collaboration with DIGI creating a KL Bar/DIGI Community allowing members to call each other for free/ lower rates for SMS/ Free phones in some packages/ Special rates for IPhone & Blackberry etc.

2. Member of Human Rights Committee, Bar Council

- Appointed by Bar Council to lead the programme to create

awareness of S28A CPC

3. Member of NYLC

May the 3rd Force be with you

2010-10-24T23:48:00.001+08:00

Last year, when there were 3 elections going in Malaysia, I wrote of the possibility of a 3rd force in our politics.

In recent time, Haris Ibrahim & RPK have both wrote about this force. With the recent antics of PKR in their on-going election, plus the DAP fiasco at Perak, how are we to trust Pakatan to take care of themselves, let alone take of Malaysia?

The DAP fiasco in Perak is again caused by this Ngeh/Nga combo. Just before the March 8.2008 election the Batu Gajah MP form DAP had resigned and cited the unbearable political style of this Ngeh/Nga faction for her decision. Now Kula finds them unbearable too. This posting is not to support Fong or Kula, but to ask DAP if they will ever break out of their mentality of an opposition and learn to act like a party which can govern the country.

DAP & for that matter Pakatan, must not forget that we Malaysian voted by majority, against BN, not because DAP or PAS or PKR are parties which we love or look up to, but we were just too fed up and hated BN, especially UMNO.

Pakatan must learn to act with humility and show leadership. Personality politics must be put aside, as the politics should be who is the better leader to take us up. We should search for quality leaders, not intimidating leaders.

However, the DAP Perak fiasco and the on-going PKR election, in all fairness, are subjected to unfair and sensationalistic journalism by the BN owned newspapers.

Many local papers over sensationalize the so-called internal fights in PKR between Zaid Ibrahim and Azmin. The Ngeh/Nga factor too was cheekily played out in these papers and DAP was made to look bad. It is definitely an unfair reporting. One must not forget, that in every single political party, there will be some internal squabble. That is given.

However that does not deflect the fact that Pakatan is still seen as a motley crew of politician, out to gain from the weakness of BN, and not here to be a party which will be loved & respected.

In any political fight, when one put one's heart to do the right thing; and try to convince that the person can deliver, it can be done. Obama did it. Che Guevara did it. Gandhi did it too. So why cant Malaysian do it too?

What we have in Malaysia at the moment, is a politics of self interest. Even the Pakatan people now seems to show the BN trait of being interested in the money aspects of the Politics, and not the Social aspects of Politics.

Perhaps I am old school, perhaps I am wrong to still believe that Politicians should be good leaders, people whom you look up to. People who will do the right thing, at the right time. But I am still hoping (perhaps against hope) that Malaysia will be rid of this money politic (created by BN and now seemingly reaching the doors of Pakatan.)

So, that brings me to the issue of a 3rd Force in our Politics.

In my daily dealing with people in NGO's, Pakatan and few in MCA, I have met many people who genuinely wants to do something good for this country. There are many people out there who really wants to serve this country and make it a better place for all.

But these good people are always suppressed by the people on top. It is common in Political parties, the people on top will shoot down the up-coming stalwart who will be a 'threat' to this top dog. Look at UMNO, how many genuine good leaders has Mahathir demolished.

Perhaps, these good people, should just come out and form a new 3rd party. A political party with people who really wants to help out and improve the system. It is likely this 3rd force, if it emerges, will be formed via NGOs. We have many good positive NGOs out there, and these NGO will be the platform to a new party.

People who are in this 3rd force, genuinely dont care who becomes Prime Minister amongst them, but this group will chose the PM who is of quality and of merits. I can see that in these people, and if they can convince enough people to vote them into Parliament, we may have a new 3rd force.

It will be tough, it will be arduous. But we owe it to our country to explore all possible means to make it better. At the moment, BN and to some extent Pakatan, is just not good enough.

Right To Legal Counsel : S28A Criminal Procedure Code

2010-10-20T14:57:00.001+08:00

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

Arrest of Lawyers was Wrong!

2010-10-18T17:07:00.000+08:00

On the auspicious date of 10.10.10, 4 lawyers were detained by the Police at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

Why were they detained?

Apparently the Police party who arrested the 4 lawyers was suspicious of some red-coloured pamphlets which the Police thought was an anti-police pamphlet.

The 4 lawyers were taken to a Police Station after their Identity Cards were seized by the Police and a few hours later, the 4 were released.

The OCPD of Cheras, Supt Abdul Rahim was quoted in The Star in a report of this arrest as saying "It is not a big issue, they were released a few hours later".

It is ironic that the lawyers were detained for distributing pamphlets which contained guidelines for the people on the general powers of the Police in areas of arrests, search & remands, amongst others.

The Redbook pamphlet was a direct reaction of the nude-squatting video fiasco in 2005. Back then a video of a lady forced to strip and performing repeated squats before a Policewoman, was heavily circulated on the Net, and the ruckus caused was so profound, that the former Prime Minister called upon a Royal Commission to investigate into the powers of the Police to perform bodily Search.

Minister, Dato Nazri launched the Redbook, not once but twice. In 2006, the Minister graced the initial launch of the original Redbook at the Bar Council Building, and again in 2009, the amended Redbook, now in pamphlet version, was re-launched by the same Minister.

So the Redbook is not only supported by the Bar Council, but a Minister, what more, the de facto Minister of Law.

At the last portion of that Redbook Pamphlet, the pamphlet acknowledges the contribution of a group of lawyers, who banded together to draft the Redbook. Calling themselves ëTANGKAPî, which stands for ìTindakan Anti-Penyalahgunaan Kuasa Polisî, these lawyers intended to produce a simple mini guide book for the people, to help them understand some aspects of the powers of the police.

The pamphlet was originally in a format of a small note book (hence the name ëRedbookí) but was reformatted to a pamphlet in 2009.

Ravin Singh, Chairperson of the KL Barís Legal Aid Centre had indicated that the Police was probably focused on the words ìAntiî & ìPolisî in that pamphlet. The 4 lawyers who were detained, had informed him of the same.

Hearing that, one canít help but conclude that the Police either needs better eye sight, or are just so afraid of lawyers.

What happened on 10.10.10 was just wrong. This is not the first time we hear of Police arresting Legal Aid lawyers. The last time around in 2009, the Police arrested a group of Legal Aid lawyers are Brickfield police station claiming that they were part of an illegal assembly when they were actually at the gates of the Police station to meet clients.

This time around, merely for distributing pamphlets (which contained words like ìAntiî & ìPoliceî) we read of young Legal Aid lawyers, being arrested.

The way the entire matter is brushed aside by the Police just shows how the Police lack respect for a personís right & liberty. The reasons for the arrest is displeasing and the fact the people detained, were lawyers, just makes the arrest more significant.

Also, this continued mistrust by the Police over the activities of the lawyers, albeit via Legal Aid or other Committees of the Bar Council, must stop.

In this matter, the Redbook pamphlet was in fact produced to assist and help the Police. Instead of arresting the Legal Aid lawyers that day, the Police ought to have joined in to distribute the Redbook pamphlet.

In fact on many occasions, the Police have shown massive reluctance to work with the Bar, on projects like the Redbook. Logic would dictate that if the people understand why the Police do certain things, and also understand their rights when dealing with the Police, it may help the Police & the public.

As mentioned earlier, the Police was wrong on this occasion to arrest the legal aid lawyers, as they were equally wrong in arresting the other legal aid lawyers in 2009. An apology may suffice, though the 4 lawyers arrested on 10.10.10 should consider bringing an action in Court against the Police for wrongful detention.

The Courts Must be Crazy?

2010-10-09T01:15:00.001+08:00

In the 1980s, there was this iconic movie called, The GODS must be crazy. A Pilot had thrown out a Coke Bottle out of his small plane while flying over Africa. The Bottle hit this African chap, and he thought it was a gift from God. His village got into so much conflict due to that bottle, that he decided to travel far away to 'dispose' of this bottle. There lies the adventure which became the focus of the Movie.

It seems the Courts in Malaysia has gone crazy, too.

Recently a new Chief Justice was appointed in Malaysia. Tun Zaki (he was 'Tan Sri' when he was first elevated to be the CJ), has transformed the Court system to the point that the cases are moving faster than ever.

Unfortunately, the speed the case are moving at, has failed to take into account human factor, and pierced the shield of Justice. We have Judges adamant to finish a Court hearing, come what may. Even when a lawyer was asked by a Higher Court to attend another Hearing, the lower Court still insist on going on.

But there is no reciprocation. The Courts on the other hand, can double park cases, and when we attend some Hearings all ready to go, the Court adjourns the matter.

Given, that the Judges are now working harder than ever. We must applaud this. For a long while we have complaint that Judges are lazy and slow. But now our prayers for a faster Judiciary has been answered. Or so we think.

Whilst the old system was slow, what we wanted was not a speedy trial ONLY, but ALSO, more IMPORTANTLY in fact, is that JUSTICE must always be the paramount factor. Instead we have Judges invoking mysterious powers to strike out cases. Demanding lawyers who have to attend hearing at Putra Jaya at 9am, to return to KL High Court at Duta, by 11am. It is just ridiculous, sometimes.

The Judges seems intent to only achieve speed and attain the KPI index imposed on them.

I am personally happy that we have some intellectual Judges who care for our client's cases and truly want to provide the justice that the case cry out for, but the continued pressure on the Judges to finish their cases quickly would only mean the whole Judiciary is nothing more than a Formula1 Court. Zooming past the chequered flag, with little regard to justice.

Time to bring some sanity back to the Judiciary. Dont think we can just go to the 'end of Malaysia' and throw out a coke bottle, but we cant allow a system to persist in our Country where Justice is not done.

16th September 1999

2010-09-16T01:23:00.000+08:00

Finally after 47 years, we celebrate 16th Sept as the day Malaysia was created. Perhaps there are too many public holidays in Malaysia, but I suppose this one is a fairly important one (though I still feel the declaration is politically motivated to woo Sabah/Sarawak votes).

I recall 16th September 1999. 11 years ago, I was called to the Bar, admitted & enrolled as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. My Call was moved by Ms Evelyn Wan, whom I am made to understand have retired from practise. She is a pleasant lady and was very warm and friendly. Her office at Ampang was beautiful, an extension room off her bungalow home.

My Master Ms Ho Chee Kit was there too that day. She is such a busy practitioner, that it was a pleasant surprise to hear that she could make it for the Call, that day. My 'real' Master was Mr Yeoh Chong Keng. Under him, I received much training about the basics of Banking litigation. Till today, much that I learnt from him, I still use. His PA, Ms Janet was also an important person, as she guided me of the nitty gritty administration of a File. No use being a smart lawyer, if one cant manage his/her file properly. Janet thought me that.

Surprisingly I recall I was very calm on the Call day. I had invited all my very close friends to attend, and I was so happy when all of them came, despite it was a working day. Many of them took half day leave just to be there. I felt honoured. Soon Seng, Seng Leong, Chow Hoong, Chee Seng, Yee Meng, Sze Meng, Theam Hock and of course, Yip 'siputeh' were all there.

My call was moved before KC Vohrah J. He is such a respected Judge that being called before him was an honour by itself. I recall I sat at a corner waiting to be called. The Court then was at Wisma Denmark, at Jalan Ampang. There were 2 rows for the Pupils to sit, and I was seated behind.

I was wearing the new Suit I just tailored from Sparks Manshop (Tak Kalah, Gaya mesti ada). This chap seated next to me was very nervous and was shivering. I had to calm him down and after a few minutes, he looked ok.

In fact, I was so relax and calm, that after the Call, the Registrar (who was seated next to the Interpreter) that day, ticked me off as she felt I was sloshing on the chair and looked too relaxed.

Finally after a few other Petitions were heard, my Petition was finally called. Ms Wan stood up and read a short speech about me. I had drafted a very short one, but Ms Was (after chatting with me) added in a few more stuff into it. Looking back, I felt I should have made more mention of my Parents. My Thanks to my parents were recorded that day, but perhaps I should written a little bit more of them, their sacrifices and hard work to ensure I made it to that day.

On that point, I recall turning back and saw the smile of pride on Father's face when KC Vohrah J moved my Petition and granted the order to admit and enroll my name as an Advocate & Solicitor. There was no doubt that the pride that he and Mother felt that day, was immense. My sister was there too, and she too was an important person for me. I recall how pleased I was that all 4 of us were in Court, but not because we were suing each other, but to see one of us get Called to the Bar.

We had a small makan at the canteen opposite Wisma Denmark. It was a joyful occasion and with family & friends around, it was a day I will never forget.

Now, it's been 11 years since I was called to the Bar. 11 years. Wow, cant believe that I am still doing what I am doing. It is getting more & more difficult to stay as a lawyer. What with the KPI at Courts, all kind of new rules at the Land Office/Stamp Duty Office/Local Authorities etc etc. Staff to lead and keep happy. More Subscription to pay for the Bar. The Service Tax issues, the EPF to be paid, the Accounts to be maintained.

I suppose every Senior lawyer went through what I am going through now. So cant really complain. Not sure if I will still be a lawyer in 11 years time, but one thing is for sure, it has been one hell of a ride the last 11 years.

Bring on the next 11.

The Wild Wild West of Peninsular Malaysia

2010-08-27T01:35:00.000+08:00

The West of the US, is infamous for being wild and dangerous about 150 years ago. Legends of gun fighters and lawlessness have been documented and even made into Hollywood movies.

It is feared that Kuala Lumpur, being on the west side of the Peninsular of Malaysia, is the new wild, wild west of the Peninsular.

The death of Madam Leong Lai Yeong today, only shows the level of lawlessness we are slowly reaching.

Just a few weeks ago our Prime Minister, in trying to politicise the issue of safety declared that SS2 and in fact the entire PJ a safer place. Since then, without having to go find any external statistics, purely looking around my personal life, I have heard of friends' whose house got broken in, a friend who was robbed knife point in PJ, a lady friend whose car glass was smashed by a motor cyclists who stole her handbag etc.

Now we read of a lady who was crossing the overhead bridge to get to work and was stabbed by a person trying to steal her bag. This is a very sad story. Tragic to hear a person going out work, to earn a living, getting killed. I must concede that I almost broke a tear when I read this story, as Madam Leong could easily be my mum. Reading these kind of news, makes me so worried for my family and friends!

However, there have been positive news from the police that the culprit is likely still in Klang Valley and for the sake of Madam Leong's family, I hope the Police would do some work and arrest this culprit.

But has the authorities ever thought of researching why these crimes are growing in Klang Valley? Is there a social problem? What about economic problem?

If the bloody government loves so much to form committees (to see if a teacher was racists), then form a committee to study this and advise the public what we can do. Tell us what is the general reasons causing crimes like this.

At this moment, without being sure why these crimes occurs, all we can do is put more locks at our house, double (or triple) lock our cars, walk around clutching our bags etc. In short, continue to live in fear, as we dont know why all these is happening.

This blog has stated this before, and this is repeated here - Our Government wants to govern this country, right? Then govern properly lah. Start by making our country, particularly Klang Valley a safer place to live in.

In the meantime, I wish to express my condolences to the family of Madam Leong

We need "Polis yang Bergerak", Not "Balai Bergerak Polis"

2010-08-17T00:35:00.001+08:00

There is a Balai Polis Bergerak at SS2 PJ, ever since Najib came to visit SS2 a few weeks ago. It is located right in front of Mac Donalds.

Now, this should be greeted with happiness that the Police (& the Government) may finally care for us a little more - That there is a Balai Polis Bergerak, located at this busy place, with more police officers sitting inside there.

But one hidden fact is that, less than 500 metres away from that Balai Polis Bergerak, is the large SS2 Police Station.

The point of this posting is, why the hell are we spending money to have a Balai Polis Bergerak so near to a large Police station?

Is not it better to have this Balai Bergerak somewhere which really need it?

Najib - the point is not whether we have the Balai Polis Bergerak or not, what we need is that the Polis to 'bergerak' and do their work.

Just a few days ago, a client called me and told me this - that he was asked by SSM (Company Commissioner of Malaysia) to lodge a police report of a fraudulent report. When he lodge the police report, the police tells the client that this is a SSM issue.

A few weeks ago, we had another client who complaint that her husband was hitting her, and the police informed her that it is a domestic issue.

My house was broken in a few months ago, and when asked, the police officer told my family that nothing can be done, and admitted that most house breaking case go unsolved. (And my dad being a former cop, himself could only shake his head in disbelief when hearing this).

I know 2 other lawyers whose Satria GTi got stolen. Mine was stolen in 2001. Another 3 lawyers' whose car was stolen outside the Duta Court Complex. Imagine - the centre of Justice in KL, and a mere hundred metre away from the gates of Duta Court, cars were stolen, and what more cars of the very people at Court trying to carry out their duties as lawyers.

Another 2 friends had their ncar stolen - one had his car stolen right outside his office at Damansara Heights. The other lost his car outside his former office at Seri Petaling.

A cousin of mine got his house broken in a few years ago, and did not realise his spare keys to his car was taken. A few nights later, he woke up to hear his car driven away, probably by the very same people who broke in his house earlier.

Another friend, while jogging at TTDI park, got his car broken in and the contents of his wallet stolen. And at TTDI, there is this large Police station, but obviously it did not deter the thief.

Countless lady friends who had their bags and chains snatched, molested in busses or taken advantage of.

A Judge in a tribunal informed me that his house was not only broken in and burgled, but the robbers woke him up only to hit his face and slash him (he had more than 10 stitches). Imagine attacked at your very bed and in the supposed sanctuary of your home.

All these stories above have one common theme - the crime remain unsolved. And these friends/relatives/acquaintance of mine above, have lodged police reports but to no avail.

Which means I have a 100% record of friends/relatives/acquaintance who were robbed/burgled/Snatched/molested but no justice came to help these people.

Why? Because we have a cock police force. A pathetic police force. A police force which is so corrupt that the only way to make them better, is to sack them all and start a new police force.

Cautious Optimism

2010-08-11T00:33:00.002+08:00

To blog about the constant illogical incidents in Malaysia has become a sometimes, tiring affair. From the discovery of a suicide note at a Death Inquest to Perkasa's continued threat to dismantle non-malays in Malaysia, our country is just a novel of political gamesmanship. Suddenly sand sale is an issue. Peaceful candle vigil sees Police storming in to put the light out. Submarines which still stay afloat, when the primary purpose is that it is suppose to sink. Hundreds of Millions of tax-payers money spent to build one big house for one man and his wife. Millions spent to campaign on some motto with digit '1', all of course using our money. Sigh, it is tiring to even think of all these issues.

So for this one, lets talk about something lighter, though still very serious - Football. Particularly, Everton FC.

The EPL is around the corner, and Everton this time around seems to be going steady. There is hope that Everton can sustain a top 6 challenge, and if (a BIG if) we can put up a consistent patch, we may just finish in the top 4.

Arteta's contract extension is a huge boost to the club. He is like a new signing to Everton and all is left is to get Pienaar to sign. Cahill, Baines & Rodwell have agreed to stay on for a few more years, and Seamus Coleman, another player for the future, has also signed on for a 5 year contract.

It would be great if Everton can bring back Landon Donovan, as he seems to bring balance to team, with his darting runs on the right side. Also, Everton must sign another left back to support Baines. He is the only recognised left back we have at the moment. Maybe Moyes can unearth another Seamus Coleman.

I must say that Moyes has been patient in building this team, and despite having a cock Chairman who cant seem to bring in proper investment to Everton, Moyes has agreed to stay on and try build a new era for Everton.

The air is filled with optimism, but typical of any Everton fan, we are always cautious if not sometime pessimistic. But somehow, this pre-season, pessimism is out of fashion, and Everton seems to be steady but probably wont be spectacular when the season starts.

Lets start with a win at Blackburn this Saturday.

NIL SATIS NISI OPTIMUM!

Basement Courts

2010-07-30T16:10:00.002+08:00

"Basement" - a word if mentioned in a conversation, would likely ignite an image of a space below a building. If pressed on, most of us would visualise a basement as a place to store things; a parking place for cars; perhaps even a dark place; but how many people would think of a "Court" when uttering that word, "basement"?

Well, at Kuala Lumpur Duta Court Complex, the basement of the building where some cars are parked, where a canteen is located there too and also some space to store Court Files; is also the location of the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate Courts Managing centre.

Recently, the Courts restructured the system, and created a new system, called the 'Tracking system', where ALL cases are managed by a Central Managing Centre, and conduct Case Management Hearings. This managing centre would then 'distribute' the case to relevant Magistrate Court which are located at the same Court Complex.

Everyday, many lawyers would gather at this Basement to meet with Registrars who are managing the many many files there. Currently, the Civil division of the Magistrate Courts hears disputes of matters, below RM25,000 in value. And every day, Hundreds (if not Thousands) of cases are called up for this Case Management under this tracking system at this Basement. Sometimes over a hundred lawyers would squeeze into this small area of about 1,500 to 2,000 square feet and jostle to meet the Court Registrars.

There are some LCD screens at this area of the Basement; to show the list of cases, and used to flash the next case to be called by the Registrar to call. In theory a lawyer would only need to see this LCD screen to know when to meet the relevent Registrar. The Registrar on the other hand, sits in a cubicle to manage the file with the lawyer who is called.

But this LCD screen has on many occasion, fail to work. The lawyers are then made to line up and horde near the cubicle to hear their cases being called up. At the same time, whilst waiting, some court clerk will sometimes, instruct the lawyers to wait near the LCD TV, and despite pleas that the LCD does not work (and hence why the lawyers need to stand near the cubilce) etc etc, the lawyers are shooed away from the Cubicle and forced to strain their ears (and necks) to hear their case being called by the Registrars.

If one try to find a place to sit at this area of the Basement; that too would be difficult, as seats are a premium. So the lawyers are forced to stand and wait.

The mobile phone signal for all 3 mobile phone companies in this Basement area is very very weak. And to compound matters, due to the large amount of people, forced to congregate at a small area, the place becomes warm and uncomfortable.

So the lawyers who attends to this hearing at the Basement, would have little signal to communicate via their mobile phone (which would mean some lawyers who are on 3G phone cant even use the time waiting for the case be called, to reply their e-mails), and would have to endure a warm and suffocating atmosphere in a small closed area.

This article here, wishes to raise awareness on what lawyers go through at this Basement at Duta Court Complex. Matters are sometimes called as late as 5pm, and lawyers (who have to be there by 2pm, as the Case Management starts then) may have spent as much as 3-4 hours just to wait to meet the Registrar.

An obvious point which sometimes may be forgotten, is that these lawyers are at Court to WORK. Not to play, not to mingle, but to WORK. To represent their client and to sort out the matter. Whilst it would be fair to comment to say that luxury is not a neccessity when executing one's jobs especially at a place like a Court Complex, but surely, there is a minimum standard of quality expected at any work place.

And amongst the people waiting at this Basement, are not merely lawyers, but many many lay people, who are usually lost and overwhelmed by the whole court process. It is common to see many lay people, looking absolutely lost and unsure of what exactly is happening, and they would be wondering around the Basement too, to attend to their cases.

So we have a mix fruits of lawyers & lay people, congregating at this less than 2,000 square feet place, trying to jostle to meet Justice.

We fought for independence, to manage our own country, and over 50 years later, the Capital of our Country has a Court where almost everyday, people have to squeeze into a small-not-properly-ventilated-&-without-a-proper-mobile-phone-signal-place, just to try sort out their legal problem. Surely, we can do better than this.

World Cup 2010

2010-07-18T23:44:00.002+08:00

It came. it saw us and it definitely conquered us.. The World Cup 2010 came and had a grip of our live for a month but sadly, all good things must come to an end. Spain is truly a worthy winner and their fluid passing game is pleasing to the eye and should be the DNA for all future football champions.

I have to concede that my heart was with Holland. A team I supported since 1988 (the days of Gullit &; Marco Van Basten), but alas that final, they were just not good enough. Had Robben scored one of the 2 1-on-1 chances he had, things could have been different.

The other team I usually support is England, and they were woeful. A small part of me is glad that Leighton Baines & Phil Jagielka did not make it to that team. They would have returned to Everton torn and broken. England 2010 was shite.. as simple as that.

But the biggest winner for the World Cup is not that annoying vuvu-what ever-zela. Not Spain. And definitely not South Africa. FIFA was the biggest winner. The money they made from the tournament was obscene and FIFA was nothing more than a godfather, demanding protection money from anyone who was willing to be part of the procession.

Their cock-nonsense about no video technology has now brought the entire game into disrepute when that 'goal' by Lampard was missed by the cock-eye referee but seen by millions of us at home, and I am sure thousands in that stadium too.

Blatter once said that video technology take away the human factor, the human celebration. To say he talks cock, is an understatement. What nonsense is that. Human celebration or whatever human thingy, celebrates fair play and if there is a way to sort things out fairly, human by nature would want to subscribe to that. It is in-built in all human character that we want to be judged fairly and accurately.

So having to stop a game for about 30 seconds to see that the ball did pass the goal line, would cause an even better and justified fairplay.

Blatter is nothing more than a football mafia, taking in the money for FIFA's own benefit.

Lets hope the next World Cup, we wont see another 'Lampard'. Till then, I will always remember Larissa Riquelme..

Demeaning Malaysian Chinese?

2010-06-25T16:34:00.000+08:00

When Nazri claims that this gambling thing (sport betting), is for the Chinese, and that it is the culture of the Malaysian Chinese, I found that demeaning.

The issue now is not about the culture of a group of people. The issue is whether gambling should be legalized in Malaysia. We already have legalized Sports Toto/3D/Magnum etc etc, do we need sports gambling?

Even Pakatan should stop the rhetoric about this being un-islamic. That is not the principle issue. If it is, then we have to close all gambling shops.

Perhaps Nazri should stop making sweeping statements that the Chinese in Malaysia loves to gamble. If he wishes to make sweeping statements, and more so if he wishes to justify and fortify that kind of sweeping remarks, then he must be prepared to accept comments that UMNO politicians are corrupted and immoral.

As for the sports betting, the Government has again failed to be transparent when granting the license to Ascott. The current flip-flop of yes-no-yes license given is poor image for the Government. We cant even decide on something like this. Very poor indeed.

The people must also look at the income the sports betting will generate for the country. If (and only IF) this money is channeled properly back to the people, AND the betting scheme is well regulated, then perhaps the enterprise may work.

But in Malaysia where we suspect the integrity of the administrators, we have the corrupt UMNO and BN people plundering our money & we have a Government who is unsure of themselves, it is unlikely that the scheme will work.

Honesty

2010-06-23T00:51:00.001+08:00

Billy Joel sang a song with that word. Good song.

It is a simple word, describing a simple trait. A trait which has elements of truth, requiring a person who wishes to be associated with that word, to be truthful and conduct oneself with integrity.

There are people who just cant be honest. They would say a thing and do another. They would agree to an issue, and conveniently forget about it and say something else. They would act dishonestly and defend their dishonesty with vigor and enthusiasm, traits which we would wish this dishonest person would have illustrated whilst acting honestly, not dishonestly.

But as Billy Joel sung:-
Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you

How accurate this can be.

It's back... YLC Charity Nite 2010

2010-06-07T13:10:00.001+08:00

The 6th edition of the annual Charity Nite by KL Bar's Young Lawyers Committee is back. It will be held at GOSH club at Asian Heritage Row, KL on 2nd July 2010 (Friday).

How the f**k does he know it is safe in PJ?

2010-06-05T01:14:00.002+08:00

In Malaysia, the politicians just seem to politicise everything. Someone wins a gold medal, they rush to give awards. Someone arrested in Vietnam for drugs, some youth wing will rush to 'save' the accused.

It is just sickening. Instead of focussing on administering the country, these politicians take the easy way out by just making sure they are seen to do things, things which really, dont necessarily improve the country.

Take Najib's visit to SS2 PJ on Wednesday. Our PM so confidently declare that people of SS2 feels safer. Is he talking cock, or is he just a plain idiot?

SS2 and for that matter, the entire PJ and Klang Valley is like the wild wild west of US. The robbers/thieves/rapists etc are roaming around so freely. People write on blogs, tweets etc on how they were robbed/mugged etc. Houses broken in broad day light. Cars stolen every day. Motorbikes stolen everyday.

And yet this PM 'declares' that the people in PJ feels safer. You can see this news in the Sun.

Why dont he let his daughter walk around SS2 without the hordes of police escort. Why dont he come stay at one of the houses in PJ and see how many locks we put on our grill door. Why dont he ask his wife to walk along the street in SS2 with her hand bag around her elbow, lets see how long before a snatch thief comes along.

And I read about lesser police reports made in PJ, as a statistic to support lesser crime.

Again, is our PM an idiot? People in PJ dont want to report to the police cause these police idiots dont do anything. We will always get the usual answers from the idiots at the police station:-

1. "Oh, ini kes sivil"

2. "Alamak, in salah balai lah"

3. "Sabar, kami tak cukup orang"

4. "Kami susah, sebab kamu rakyat tak nak tolong kami bagi informasi" (even though it is the police's job to gather intelligence, or else why the f**k we have a Special Branch for?)

So, please, please dont politicise the issue of security. We who live in PJ dont get to enjoy our life. We live with concerns. Concerns that tomorrow, one of our loved ones may be the next one hit by a criminal. Our life is like a russian roulette. You never know, we may be the next to get hit by the bullet (oh.. that bullet thing has a deja vu feel).

Really, I really cant wait to vote Najib and his entire Government out.

Subsidizing the subsidized with our subsidies?

2010-06-03T00:19:00.002+08:00

The Government now wants to take away subsidies from the people. Looking purely at the economic side, it makes a lot of sense to minimise subsidies, as subsidies have the potential to erode the wealth of a nation.

However, our Government cannot remove the subsidies if the principle reason is to ensure the Government has more money to spend.

This Government has shown us all, time and again, their propensity to spend unnecessarily, irresponsibly & immorally. Over the span of 20 years, we have seen many projects which went way above the budget. The Matrade Building at KL comes to mind. The twin track rail also comes to mind. Lets not forget the silly monuments build all over Putrajaya.

We read of the Auditor-General reports of laptops purchased by the Government, 300% above the market price. We see millions spend on RELA, when the money should be spend on the Police (more salary/better equipments etc).

Submarines purchased, but cant float. Jet plane engine, stolen from the very people who are suppose to protect the nation. Cars used by the Government, is rented from some mysterious company at a super-inflated price.

The numerous Bank Bumiputra scandals. The billions lost by our Government-related banks like Bank Islam. Recent Sime Darby losses. Klang FTZ scandal.

We can go on and on. It would too long.

All these are examples of wastage. Examples of irresponsible governing. Immoral spending.

The root cause, we all know is corruption. Be it in the form of kick-backs, pay-backs, rub-backs etc, somebody's back was taken care of, and the only ones to lose out are the people.

This Government has not shown the political-will to tackle corruption and in fact seems to send the message to the people, that this Government takes corruption as a culture and a norm. How then, can the people be expected to accept this proposal to remove subsidies?

Another issue this Government has failed to tackle in the recent discussions about subsidy-removal, is salary. The salary of a young professional in Kuala Lumpur, hovers around RM2,500 to RM3,000. Some lucky ones may receive salary of RM4,000 but this is the exception and not the norm. The clerical staff, on the other hand, usually starts at RM800 to RM1,200 at Kuala Lumpur.

If subsidies are taken away, what guarantees can the young Malaysians be able to cope up with this level of salary? If petrol price shoots up to (for example) RM3.50 per litre, how would that help?

A young professional use to earn about RM1,800 to RM2,200 back in the year 2000. 10 years later, the starting salary has gone up by 15% to 30% only. Yet petrol prices which used to be around RM1.20 per litre back in 2000, is now doubled in price.

Perhaps the Government should not hoodwink the people anymore. Why do you need this money saved from subsidy? Please tell us the truth? Is it to subsidies the expensive and expansive lifestyle of our politicians in the Government? Is it to give our politicians more money to promise to the people during by-elections?

Please tell us the truth. No more lies.

Wayne Rooney ; What could have been

2010-05-23T00:21:00.004+08:00

Revolution

2010-05-07T01:55:00.002+08:00

Threats of May 13; the 'dont-mess-with-me-cause-I-am-Malay' threats; unruly statements etc etc; continues to be reported. Best still, they are all reported in the Main media (read : controlled by BN or UMNO). Not only is UMNO racists and violent, they are proud of it, so proud, that Utusan Malaysia is used to report these.

I also notice that whenever UMNO or some organisation related to UMNO does a rally, a protest etc, it is usually, if not always, tainted with violence and threat.

Their grass root leaders are racists and always use race issues to garner emotional support and stir racial tension. Lets look at the statements made by their leaders over the years:-

1. Dato Badruddin's - 'Malaysia is an Islamic state, you dont like it, you can get out of Malaysia'

2. Dato Ahmad Ismail - "Cina Pendatang" (even though he himself is only a 2 generation Indian-muslim from India)

3. everything which comes out of Ibrahim Ali's mouth

4. Mahathir - 'Kalau ambil rasuah, adalah macam makan babi'. Coming from Malaysia's "Father of Corruption", this is so poetic.

5. Muhyiddin's "I am Malay first, Malaysia 2nd", but his boss say we are all ONE Malaysia..

6. Najib : We are 1 Malaysia, but we are not secular, but an Islamic state. At the same time, we want to legalise betting in Malaysia (hey, I thought we are Islamic??)

7. everything which comes out of Zulkifli Nordin's mouth.

8. everything reported in UMNO newspaper, called Utusan Malaysia

What about their conduct? Let's go through the list:-

1. The Cow-head protest - UMNO related

2. PERKASA's daily 'dont-mess-around-me-cause-I-am-Malay' threat - supported by UMNO via Najib and our beloved Mahathir. The PERKASA rally at PWTC was filled with the 'dont-mess-around-me-cause-I-am-Malay' threat.

3. The 'Allah' protest, at KL, also by UMNO.

4. UMNO supported rally by Penang Malay businesses protest, claiming that State Govt of Penang not supporting Malay businesses. (Well if you are in business, you dont need government help. When one go into business, one must do one thing, called 'work-hard' something UMNO people may find a bit difficult to understand).

Its a sickening state of affairs. We have obtuse and low intelligent people trying to lead this country by way of emotional threats, violence and corruption.

In the meantime, the safety of the people is compromised as this corruption bullshit by UMNO sips into PDRM, which is now corrupt beyond repair.

It is time for a Revolution. Time to step up and take the country back from these Obtuse ones.

The "Real" Social Contract in Malaysia

2010-05-05T00:07:00.001+08:00

The Government of Malaysia, particularly members of UMNO harps on this 'Social Contract' apparently between the races in Malaysia. I would tell this Government and UMNO, to focus on the more pertinent and relevent 'Social Contract', which is the Contract the Government has with each and every citizen of Malaysia. This Social Contract has a few terms and conditions, but for today, this article would focus on the term that the Government is to ensure this Country we live in, is safe and secured.

This continued political battle on which race owe which race a favour, is tiresome and bothersome. Whilst this battle continue to fester amongst our politicians, we Malaysian continue to suffer from lack of safety and security.

The primary Social Contract the Government has with us, Malaysians, is to take care of us. We pay tax. We are citizens. We are protected by our Constitution. That suffice as terms and conditions of our Contract with the Government.

We rely on our Government to provide us the security and safety, as part and parcel of being a Citizen of this country. We did not surrender our rights to a Government who has an incompetent security force (Police/Army/MACC etc). We do want a police force who need to be paid under-counter to stop doing their work, or be paid under counter money, to actually do their work.

We want an MACC who will catch the bad guys. Catch the corrupt. Catch the Big fishes. Not just catch who UMNO tells you to catch.

We want an Army who can take care of their own stock and not lose a Jet Engine or spends millions of shoes.

Malaysians, I believe are a simple lot. We just want a peaceful life and enjoy our tea after a long day at work. We want safety for our family, and for our future generation.

Why cant we have that?

I have seen Police patrolling houses at night. Though the Police is suppose to that anyway but I will just say thank you to the Police as a gesture of appreciation. But is patrolling enough? I have spoken to retired police officers who told me stories on how they would continue to communicate with the 'gangsters' back in the 70s and 80s to ensure they have information on the whereabouts of the 'bad guys' in town. The moment there is a crime, the officer would more or less know who is involved, and they would swiftly arrest and solve the crime. Is our Police doing that? Are they too busy asking for money from the people at traffic road blocks? Are they busy jostling amongst each other for the 'lucrative' posts, like the post of OCPD Cheras?

I have read of the Hong Kong's ICAC (like our MACC) manage to virtually eradicate corruption in that Country. I read that with envy, as I just dont have that confidence in our MACC.

Our Army? Well, we really dont know what they really do, right? So, other than Jet Engine incident, it would be hard to comment on the Army.

But how safe is Malaysia? Why isnt our Government pro-active enough to protect us? Our Government dont care about us, I assume? Or are the people in the Government just bothered about themselves only?

Perhaps a revolution is necessary. Time to join together as citizens and tell this government, enough is enough.

I would suggest this - Can we get, say about 10,000 Malaysian to meet at Parliament in the month of June (on a date to be decided) and meet our Member of Parliament, that they better buck up or else, we can replace them.

Or 10,000 of us to meet at Putrajaya at Najib's office and meet our PM and remind him of the Real Social Contract.

I would suggest that this gathering of Malaysians, should not be led by any Political Party or NGO, but ordinary Malaysias, who are just fed up with what is happening in Malaysia.

If you care for your family, your loved ones or this Country, then lets meet. Lets meet at Parliament first.

Dont talk shit - The remix

2010-04-20T23:10:00.000+08:00

Malaysia Boleh

2010-04-13T00:32:00.000+08:00

Muhyiddin does it again. He now claims the inter-faith commission is a 'small-fry'. The same fellow who proudly announced that he is Malay 1st and Malaysian 2nd. His boss Najib say its ok.

To say this is bull-shit, is an understatement. We have our PM hawking the yet to be crystalised concept of 1 Malaysia, a concept which purportedly want to make all us Malaysians a "1". (Till now, we are not sure what this 1 Malaysia is) And yet we have the DPM saying he is Malay 1st and Malaysian 2nd. Real Champion DPM we have.

Before we can understand this concept, Najib now announces a new economic model. I must concede, on paper, the model looks promising.

But I have this to say to Najib; its great to have concepts and economic models, but why try to come out with new concepts etc, to sway our mind away; when what you really need to do is improve the delivery system. No need a new model or concept and all, just work towards repairing the delivery system. Our Land Office takes months sometimes years just to amend an error in a title (which was caused by the Land Office, in the first place).

The Police, they wont investigate unless you pay them, and they wont arrest you, if you pay them too. So do something about that. What about IPCMC? Has Najib forgotten about that. All that hoo-haa about a Royal Commission about the Police, and in the end, nothing. Nothing done to secure the security of our family, our young ones, our loved ones.

MACC? This one is in such a deplorable state, that we probably need a new MACC. Our current MACC would give David Letterman so much ammunition to poke fun at, he probably would have a 2nd Late Show just dedicated to the MACC jokes.

Back to Muhyiddin, he is apparently going to be our next Prime Minister. To say he is a little shallow; is being polite. He does not exude any image of intelligence at all, and at times, he seems more daft than anything.

But when we have a PM who takes a top-racist MP in Zulkifli Nordin to Washington to meet Obama, effectively showing US "Hey, this is amongst my best MPs", what more can we ask of our DPM.

As for Obama, when he finish meeting Zul Nordin, he may just say to his assistant, "Ah, we dont need to worry much about Malaysia, their best MP is as good as our worst politician here in Washington"